The Blinding Book
by Smileyone1
Summary: Brago and Sherry are looking to weed out weak mamodo when news of a strong mamodo reaches them. Intrigued, the two search the forest for him but come across something suspicious and absolutely startling... rated T for mild language, but not much else!:
1. Chapter 1 The Warning

**Chapter 1: The Warning**

_Author's Note: Yay! Chapter one, I am so excited! I edited it a bit because I was unsatisfied with how it was before, so I added some description to make it fleshier! I hope you all like it, and would be pleased with reviews, but if it puts a smile on your face, then that is just as dandy! _

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Zatch Bell characters… none. **

Brago and Sherry walked through the thick forest, twigs cracking beneath Sherry's heels and Brago's boots. A warm breeze ruffled the emerald leaves above the pair, casting a few loose ones downward. Sherry was a statuesque blonde, eyes a deep beautiful blue. Her chin was small and her mouth was set into a determined frown. Her fancy dress flared outward like an umbrella, often getting a teasing grunt from her companion.

Brago was almost her complete opposite, despite the similar scowls upon their faces. His dark hair was in random tangles above his head, a dark shadowy black. His crimson eyes were glaring and set ablaze by the bright sunlight. A black fur cape adorned his muscular shoulders, now tense and erect. His eyes seemed to be looking for something, or at least expecting something to come across him.

"Sherry," his deep voice grumbled.

"Yes." Sherry did not direct her gaze to his, but her fingers clutched upon an ebony book tightly.

They had been searching this forest for weak mamodo for two days and had burned about three two had recently burned a book in this area, not even a day ago… this forest was abundant in mamodo. _All the better to eradicate the insects if they're all in one area_, Brago thought. He shoved his clawed hands further into his pockets, feeling oddly anxious. There was a strange presence near, not different from a powerful force. He might actually have to fight in earnest. The scent of battle was all around the forest, the skittish creatures were hiding from the presence out of instinct to survive and it seemed almost like heavy cologne wafting through the trees.

A pointed teeth smirk adorned his face at the thought… a fight actually worth his time… perfect. Sherry eyed Brago curiously before a small smile stretched her pink lips upward.

"Excited?" the blonde woman asked, tilting her head back slightly as she appraised him.

Brago answered with a stiff nod, not really wanted to talk at the moment. His attention was focused upon a point ahead of the powerful team, waiting for the mamodo to appear.

What kind of ability would they have? How long could they hold out against him? Not long, Brago assumed, letting himself be conceited for a moment. He glanced at his partner, suddenly glad that he had grown at least her height in the past year. It had infuriated him to no end how much she had towered over him as if she had the authority. It also didn't help that she was at least a few years older than him, the _seniority _as Sherry had put it once when he had aggravated her. Brago scoffed quietly to himself at the memory, still irritated by it.

Sherry and Brago shared the same irritation about the battles lately not to mention the entire battle for king itself, which had been going on a little over a year now. It was late summer and warm, about two months after the time Brago had first come last summer. He was taller now, standing above Sherry's shoulder, though not yet past her head. Sherry would occasionally make snide comments about his growth spurts alongside snickers which made no sense to him at all. Another thing that made no sense to him at all was that this battle was taking so ridiculously long! These spineless mamodo were hiding out in thick forests and desolate areas, foolishly trying to avoid the inevitable. It was sickening and ridiculous. Brago and Sherry had decided that unless these cowardly mamodo were cut out, the battle would last much, much longer. Brago did not have time for that. He didn't want to waste his time and training on weaklings yet he needed this battle to go faster so he could get on with the significant battles. Sherry wanted the battles to hurry so she could fight Zophis and find her friend Koko. Brago supposed these weaker mamodo battles gave them more experience, Sherry especially, but regardless, they were a pain and both of them would rather not be bothered with it.

A sudden shuffle of leaves, twigs, and dirt pricked against Brago's sensitive hearing, catching his attention. He nodded at Sherry, who opened his book expectantly, cerulean eyes tight, bangs falling into them like yellow shards. Brago pulled his black clawed hands into the open air, clenching them into fists, not wanting to wait a moment longer for the battle. This meager wandering was boring and spent time better used otherwise.

A sudden figure thrust itself upon the path before them, quivering in fear, eyes wild and maniacal. Upon seeing Brago, the scrawny human thrust his hands in front of him, as if that would block any attack Brago cast at him. His red hair was plastered across his sweaty forehead and his mouth was gaping in a silent scream. Veins throbbed in his pimply temple, brown eyes wide in terror. His clothes were frayed and torn, not to mention covered in blood. He carried no book whatsoever, and Sherry felt a twinge of disappointment. Almost like taking a bite of a sweet only to find out it's bitter. It was a sour disappointment, not to mention a disgusting one.

Brago growled in annoyance. This wasn't the opponent he sensed… the power of the other unknown mamodo was so strong that it muddled all else, he hadn't even noticed this flimsy human!

"Please spare me!" the wheezy voice begged. "My book was just burned, I have nothing! Please let me be! Please!

"Save your sniveling!" Brago snapped, anger bubbling over. "Why would I waste any energy on a weakling like you?"

Sherry snapped the book shut with a sigh, not looking forward to spending the night in the forest with an angry Brago. The sooner he fought and defeated this strange mamodo the better, in her opinion. She began to walk forward and around the human who now lay sniffling and weeping on the floor. Brago was close behind her but the human's hands flashed out, clutching the fur on Brago's cloak. Sherry inhaled a sharp gasp, about to pry the human's hands off of her demon, attempting to save the human from the loss of body parts.

"You must be careful!" he cried out, quite deranged. "The mamodo, it's terribly strong! It… it has no mercy! None! The book… the book has a fierce, unforgiving light! And never! NEVER, let it touch your head!!!!" he cried out, tears and snot falling into his gaping mouth of crooked white teeth.

The man flung away Brago's cloak and sped as fast as he could in the opposite direction, limbs flailing in their haste to leave. Brago turned with raised eyebrows, in a manner of speaking seeing as he technically had no eyebrows, to look at Sherry. He shook his cloak, disgusted that it had even come in contact with the greasy skinned human, but he seemed amused. Sherry even seemed to be in a higher spirit with the battle looming before them.

"This mamodo, he will be very amusing," was all Brago said.

Sherry smirked, "About time we had some fun."

Brago chuckled darkly as he and Sherry began walking deeper into the forest, Sherry's hair shining gold in the now fading sun as it descended lower in the sky, casting the forest into a dark and ominous shadow.


	2. Chapter 2 Encounter

**Chapter 2 Encounter**

**Disclaimer: I own no characters in Zatch Bell.**

Hey all! This is chapter 2 and I hope I didn't rush anything by accident! I like writing description so this one was a fun one to write for me! I just hope it's a lot of fun to read! Enjoy, and please REVIEW!

Brago leaned against the thick oak tree, glaring, though at nothing in particular. He picked his filed teeth with a bone from the giant fish he had just devoured, not caring to be well mannered. Sherry's nose wrinkled in utmost disgust as his eating habits, shocked he had swallowed the fish whole… and it was as big as her leg! She had already eaten her smaller, _normal _sized fish, and it was _cooked_… how he could eat raw fish while it was flopping in his mouth was beyond her reckoning…

The fire hissed and crackled, the logs burning as the flames slowly devoured them. They rippled like water, though far more menacing. Sherry stretched her fingertips towards the warmth, taking note of the pitiful condition of her cuticles. Roughing it out in the woods did nothing for her femininity. Sherry stole a glance at Brago, feeling as if he would explode at any minute. By his irritated, tense expression he was still feeling the abnormally strong mamodo presence and the fact that they couldn't find the demon didn't help matters. His pale, slightly grey skin was cast in a fluorescent orange light and made him seem warmer than usual, though his deadly expression contrasted any such inkling immediately.

"Brago, we're sure to find the demon tomorrow," Sherry assured daringly.

Brago merely scowled, black claws digging into his skin where he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His black boot clad foot tapped against the hard forest floor in an aggravated fashion. Sherry was amused that his feelings were so open at the moment.

"We should have found him today!" he grumbled.

Sherry sighed and decided not to press her luck. When her demon partner was in a mood like this there was no way to sway him, he was like a stubborn child. Sherry's blue eyes wandered over to the black spell book near Brago's feet. She had learned five spells so far and was disappointed that the sixth one hadn't appeared yet. The lettering on the cover gleamed red in the firelight, casting the book with an ominous, menacing appearance. _For something so small,_ Sherry thought errantly, _it sure is vulnerable… if even the slightest spark of fire or if even a tiny corner of a page starts to burn, Brago will be sent back into the mamodo world, the demon world. _

"Ridiculous," Sherry grumbled.

"What?" Brago asked in a snarl.

"None of your business!" Sherry replied in kind. _Honestly, this guy wants to be king. If he wants to be king, he's going to need to learn to control his temper!_

Brago shrugged, not really caring about what was driving his book partner crazy. Brago despised being paired with a human for this contest, but if he had to choose any human, it would have to be Sherry, he admitted to himself grudgingly. He appraised her over the fire with his red eyes. She could go for three days without sleep and little to eat, she could run and actually keep up with him, she could call out his gravity spells with an uncanny sense of accuracy and synchronicity, and she was even more determined to prove herself strong in these battles than many other Book masters he had encountered. But no matter how much stronger they had become as a team, if he wanted to win the title of King of the Mamodo world, they needed to defeat this strong demon clouding up his senses. Snarling to himself, he threw his fur cloak over to Sherry who caught it, startled.

"Sleep," he ordered gruffly. "We have a big day tomorrow; I can't have you slowing me down."

Sherry's eyes narrowed dangerously and glinted with red from the fire, but she swiftly turned her back on him and flopped onto the ground in a huff. _Of _course_ I would slow him down_… she thought acidly. _Mr. I-Don't-Sleep-Like-You-Worthless-Humans…_

Brago smirked amusedly at Sherry's pigheadedness and gently shut his eyelids, preparing to calmly wait out the night in thoughtless rest.

* * *

The forest seemed darker today than the day before, almost cast in a gloomy, foreboding light. The clouds above were a stormy grey, threatening a harsh downpour of rain. It almost matched Brago's mood, and Sherry wondered if Brago had a secret ability to control the weather. The aura surrounding him seeped into her skin through her dress, dark and furiously irritated that he couldn't find the strong mamodo. They had been wandering around for about two hours and still Brago's senses to find the mamodo were muddled. His scowl was slowly increasing every minute, getting more and more pronounced as time dragged on.

Brago slouched, feeling inadequate. Feeling inadequate made him feel weak. Feeling weak made him unbearably furious and that made him want to fight this mamodo even more, to want to crush him with Brago's power, to hear the despaired cry of the Book master as the mamodo disappeared from the human world forever. Yes, that would make him very happy, or at least content. But because of the strong power disrupting his senses, he couldn't find him! Yes, Brago was extremely irritated. He glanced over at Sherry to review her condition, to assess her ability for the upcoming fight, but Brago could detect no major flaws. She was slightly worn from all of their hard trekking through this forest and needed one of her soft, plushy _hotels_… but that could come after this battle.

A whiff of a strange scent caught Brago's nose and his body tensed. He raised his nose to the aroma, breathing deeply. There were three different scents, two different mamodo and one human. One was distinctively male and smelled of a malicious intent, of evil need, and the second mamodo was female, fear thick over her being, yet carrying a magnificent rage in her heart. The third was a human, no doubt a Book Master… for… the male mamodo. A blinding white light broke through the trees followed by a loud crackling, not unlike the sound of thunder or lightning.

"Sherry!" he growled breaking into a run. The female mamodo was running… the male was becoming fainter along with his Book Master. Brago was NOT about to lose the powerful mamodo again! But now that the two mamodo were separating it seemed his senses were sharper. The two o f them together had jammed his senses! Now that they were separating it seemed that there was no strong distinction that he had been feeling.

"The strong mamodo I sensed, it wasn't just the male, it seemed that the two together were jamming my senses…" he snarled, frustrated again. It hadn't been one abnormally strong mamodo; it had been two normally strong mamodo in close range of each other!

"Do we go after the one with a Book master, or the one without?" Sherry questioned.

Brago was about to answer "the male" when he skidded to a stop. The female mamodo was in front of him. Sherry froze, waiting for directions from Brago.

The young woman had dark chocolate brown hair rippling along her back like water with caramel colored streaks. Her eyes were the warmest, golden brown. Blood dripped from a wound on her forehead, startlingly red on her face. Black pants covered her thin, willowy legs as well as black cloth boots. Her torso was draped in a dark brown loose blouse, revealing her cut arms, with a black belt wrapped around her thin waist. On her neck hung a tiger's eye pendant along with a matching necklace as well as the belt buckle. But the thing that caught Brago's attention, the only thing at the moment, was the white book clutched tightly in her cut, bleeding hand.

Sherry opened Brago's spell book, ready to call out a spell should she need to. Just because this mamodo didn't have a Book Master, she could still be strong. Brago certainly was, but Sherry didn't say anything out loud. Brago remain still, eying the mamodo like a wolf eyed a cougar; whether the fight would occur and how strong the opponent was.

"You've been burning books in this area, right?" the mamodo whispered, legs trembling from fatigue. No doubt the earlier battle with the male had worn her out. "Well, you're not burning mine!"

Brago raised his eyebrows mockingly. "Oh really? I don't see how you can stop us," he sneered.

The mamodo clenched her teeth into a vicious snarl. She darted forward with a speed that neither Sherry, nor even Brago, had anticipated. Brago suddenly found the front of his shirt being clenched in the female mamodo's hand. She had even managed to lift him slightly above her stooping body. Her arm shook from the energy she exuded but her grip remained firm and secure. Brago wrapped his clawed fingers around her thin wrist, ready to shove her away should he need to. She mamodo growled and glared at him with a burning determination.

"I will NOT be stopped by the likes of you! There is no way my book will burn, not now!" she snarled vehemently. Her golden brown eyes narrowed. "I have a job to do! I will not rest until I see that purple book withering in flames_ I_ created!" she cried out.

Brago looked her straight in the eyes. "Who?"

"I don't see how that is any concern of yours!" she hissed. "You won't be the one to kill him!" she took a sharp intake of air, eyes starting to glaze over. "And you most certainly won't defeat me!"

Her delicate fingers slackened and Brago found himself able to stand level with the ground. He side stepped out of the mamodo's way as she began to fall, hair spreading out behind her like a veil. Her eyes closed, though, Brago could tell, rather unwillingly.

"Brago!" Sherry scolded as she stepped forward to catch the girl, laying her gently on the floor. The girl's grip had not slackened on the white book in the slightest. Sherry sighed, disgruntled, "Now what? Do you want to burn her book?"

Brago was silent for a moment, contemplating. "No. Take her with us."

Sherry was astounded. "You want to _help_ her?"

Brago twitched slightly, as if disgusted. "Of course not! She knows about the other mamodo, we'll gather information." He stooped to casually fling the unconscious mamodo over his shoulder as easily as if she weighed nothing more than a silk ribbon. He began to walk towards the path leading out of the forest and then stopped next to Sherry who eyed him curiously. "And _then _we burn her book."


	3. Chapter 3 Snide Sayings Side of Scowls

**Chapter 3 Snide Sayings with a Side of Scowls**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Zatch Bell. Sorella is mine though, don't take her.

I had super much fun with this chapter because of Sherry getting irritated. I like Sherry herself, but irritating her is fun because of the reactions! Tee hee hee!

_Where was I? What happened? I outstretched my fingers for my book, but felt only soft blankets. Blankets? Wasn't I in a forest? But I smelled no leaves, no grass, and no trees. I felt no rain but instead heard it striking the glass of a window… windows? Where the heck was I if not in the forest? Memories flooded into my head like a sponge absorbs water. Faces… a blonde… fur, a lot of fur… a mamodo with long black hair… I winced at his face… a young girl with light brown hair… despair. Despair, regret for that face! I didn't want to look at that face right now, I couldn't handle it! I sought an escape and took the only one that I could see… my eyes fluttered open to see something other than horrors haunting me like shadows… _

I was in a hotel room, it seemed. I don't know how I was, but I was. It was a really nice one, too, not that I knew much about hotels, but I could see money on everything in this room. The walls were a pale, pretty pink with gold-like wood around the top, near the ceiling. Tall windows were covered with soft golden curtains, light; made from a see through fabric casting the room in gentle darkness though still allowing some of the light in. Not that there was very much of it, due to the rain. Potted plants were in random areas of the room, _real_ plants, not the lame plastic kind. The carpet was white and when I crept out from under the heavy covers, I discovered it was luxuriously plushy. I smiled slightly as my bare toes sunk into the floor.

No one else was here, I noticed, and I immediately berated myself for not looking for another presence the moment I woke up. Foolish… my eyes whipped across the room quickly, searching for my book, my life line. It was on a table next to the window and I leapt for it, not wanting to wait for someone to come in here to grab it. A sigh of relief whispered across my lips as I held it in my hands. Safe… The next thing to find was my shoes… I needed those too. .. Ah, there they were, by the door. I made to go retrieve them, but there were suddenly shadows beneath the door. A young woman's voice was scolding about something or other; about food it seemed… a soft growl was the only response to this obnoxious voice.

I tensed, clenching my empty hand into a fist, ready to fight should I need to. If it was a mamodo team who rescued me, my mind wandered back to that time in the forest, yes, definitely a mamodo team, then the only reason my book wasn't burned was because they wanted information. _Then _they would dispose of me. Well, that was not about to happen! I scoffed silently to myself; these mamodo teams were sometimes so predictable.

The doorknob turned and the door opened quickly, casting a golden light into the room from the hallway. The woman was tall and very pretty with long blonde hair and blue eyes the color of sky, tight with suspicion. I smirked; yes, she should be wary of me… She wore a strange dress that seemed inappropriate for the battle for mamodo king. A rectangular purse was hanging from her shoulder, no doubt the spell book. My attention switched from her to the mamodo beside her. Her was slightly taller than me, about half an inch shorter than his Book Master, though nearly the same height. His eyes, framed by slashed markings on the top and bottom of each, were a crimson red. An intimidating eye color. His arms, crossed over his firm chest, were muscular and looked like if he squeezed hard enough, he could squish a person's head. I grimaced as a visual popped into my head. Eww. His broad shoulders were draped in a long fur cloak, giving him the appearance of a wolf's mane bristling before an opponent. Again, another intimidating attribute. He also had pointy teeth that I guessed could easily shred bone or some other such tough thing. The tips of his fingers had black claws on them, something that made him look frightening and strong. Hmm…

Add all of these facts together and one gets… INTIMIDATING! Yay, brownie points for me.

"You need to relax," the woman ordered, stepping further into the room to close the door.

I frowned at that. "Or what?" I dared to ask, hoping to catch her off guard.

I did. The woman blanched, unable to think of something to say. The mamodo smirked.

"My name is Sherry, and this is Brago," the woman introduced in a vain attempt to ease the awkwardness my response brought her.

My eyebrows twitched upward and my lips stretched into a teasing smirk. "Oh, how _nice_."

Sherry's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "And your name?"

I straightened. So, she was already making the move to get information? "I don't see how that can be any concern of yours."

Sherry's eyebrows declined rapidly, so fast it would be comical if her expression wasn't a frightening one. "We saved your life; we should at least know your name!" Sherry barked.

Uhg, well, they had a point. "Sorella." If they dare to make a snide comment…!

The dark mamodo, Brago, snorted and my head swiveled in his direction. I glared at him and he returned it. Our expressions were equal looks of, "What? You got a problem?"

"Look!" Sherry said quickly, obviously frightened by our looks. She seemed to be trying to stop a fight between us. If I didn't know better, it seemed she was trying to calm _Brago _down, as if he would hurt me! Ha, what an insult. "I think we got on the wrong foot. We were looking for battles in the forest when news of some super strong mamodo reached us so we went to find him."

I flinched at this as the sudden picture came into my head. This did not go unnoticed by Brago, to my displeasure. His red eyes tightened and his mouth downturned into a deeper scowl than before.

"We found you later and you spouted some nonsense about killing him, the strong mamodo we assumed." Sherry said this with a flippant air, as if telling someone something a four year old swore to do. As if it was unimportant or useless.

"How is reality nonsense?" I hissed with venom. Sherry seemed taken aback. "I _will_ kill him. I was NOT spouting foolish vows! How can I make a vow that I don't intend to keep?"

Brago smirked. "How do you expect to do that without a Book Master?" His eyes watched me carefully for my reaction.

I grit my teeth. How I wanted nothing more than to attack… "What makes you think I need a Book Master? I can tell that you probably could take down four mamodo with only your hands."

Brago sneered, "You would put yourself on the same level as me?"

"Of course not," I smirked. "That would be a demotion."

Victory! He released his hold on his arms and let them stiffen at his sides, clenching his fists. Her snarled threateningly. Ha ha, I love it when I can be smug! Sherry touched Brago's shoulder cautiously.

"Brago," she warned. "Relax. She can't do anything to you, and you know it! Think of it as training," she suggested. "Try to keep your temper under control and don't let her mouth get you riled up. I am going to meet Jii to get our new supplies. I will be back in less than an hour. BEHAVE!" She snarled sternly. Brago looked at her as if shocked she were ordering him around.

"Well, it's nice to see a woman wearing the pants!" I snickered.

Sherry smiled but Brago was puzzled. "She's not wearing pants, she's wearing a dress."

I couldn't help it. My tough exterior cracked and I found myself laughing hysterically. Honestly, how can someone so tough and _intimidating_ be so stupidly hilarious?! I barely heard the door open and slam shut, so I quickly tried to compose myself. When I looked up I was shocked to see Brago in front of me. A clawed hand shot out and I dodged it swiftly, leaping away from him, onto the table next to me.

I sobered up instantly and was immediately in battle mode. He smirked.

"Well, your reactions aren't bad. Nothing to me, of course."

I jumped down from the table. "You're infuriating."

He rose an eyebrow, or lack thereof, and smirked. "And you're weak."

I growled. Did this guy's endless annoyances get any more annoying? For crying out loud, it might have been better if he hadn't saved me! "What the heck is your problem?!"

"You."

I clutched my hair. "Well, I can say the same! AND, I am NOT weak! I could take you down like _that_!" I emphasized with a snap of my fingers. "I'll prove it."

"It would hardly be fair," he snorted.

"You're right," I agreed. "That's why I will only use one hand."

I felt a swoop of pleasure as his red eyes disappeared, leaving behind only the vacant whites of his eyes, no doubt furious. Ha! Victory again! Brago dove towards me, agile as a rabbit but with all the ferocity of a vicious wolf. I dodged easily, grasping his wrist (using only one hand of course) to fling his body away from me. As his front fell forward his leg swung into the outside of my thigh. I gasped at I tumbled to the ground, rolling to break the fall, and then leapt to my feet in time to grasp his fist in my hand. The power he exuded was startling but nothing I couldn't handle. I smirked at his scowl but I quickly lost it as his second fist swung up. Damn! He could use both hands while I was bound by my mockery of him! Shoot, arrogance really doesn't help...

I had no time to avoid the hit so instead I countered with a kick to his head, trying at least to even the score. The force of our blows pushed our bodies away from each other, and I nearly fell backwards. I rotated my arm to loosen up my shoulder now that it was throbbing from that impressively strong punch. My aggravation lessened, however, when I noticed a small line of blood sliding from the corner of Brago's mouth. He glared at me with such malice that it probably could rival death itself in the fear it produced in my veins.

But I broke out laughing instead. His crimson eyes returned with a speculative look. He eased up on his fighting stance but his shoulders were still tense as he wiped the blood away. I fell to the ground, holding my book to my stomach, tears streaming down my face. It was so funny, and I don't even know why!!!!

"What's the matter with you?" he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets, inching away from me as I stood up, heading for the table to sit down.

"Nothing, I was a little surprised." He looked confused. "We were fairly evenly matched."

Brago snorted, leaning against the wall opposite me. "No, I was better."

I rolled my golden brown eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, but I only used one hand. Therefore, if I used two hands, we would be pretty even."

"Ridiculous," Brago grumbled.

I smiled, temporarily forgetting about the battle, forgetting that he was a supposed enemy, forgetting my vow to kill that dark haired bastard who… my hands suddenly clenched and a rage I was unaccustomed to feeling swept through my veins like wildfire. Brago eyed me curiously because there was no doubt in my mind that my expression must have been one to behold.

"Who is the strong mamodo? The one with the purple book?" he questioned with a glint in his eyes.

My head snapped up to look him full in the face, plainly telling him that the opponent was mine.

"One I will destroy!" I snarled, clutching my book tightly. Blinding light erupted from the spine and flowed over the cover like wind.

I opened it and saw on the first page that there were two spells on the pages. I smirked.

Yes. I would destroy him. This was an undeniable truth.


	4. Chapter 4 Pointless Interactions

**Chapter 4 Pointless interactions...**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Zatch Bell. Sorella is mine, though, please don't steal her.

Brago was suspicious. There was something about this girl that didn't seem quite right, even for a mamodo. Something was… off. He was angry upon realizing that Sorella and his powers weren't too far apart, and not knowing her abilities made him almost… nervous. He couldn't afford to let her find a Book Master, yet he couldn't bring himself to burn her book.

He liked that spectacular smell of hatred and fierce desire for vengeance that radiated from her skin. It was so strong it even rivaled Sherry's hatred for Zophis. What kind of mamodo was that guy anyway to induce such a feeling? The air was tense in the hotel room as Brago and Sorella waited for Sherry's return. Neither one of them talked, but it was as if rolls of heavy, thick irritation were dripping from their hunched shoulders. Brago noticed that Sorella opened and closed her moth several times, head slightly tilting as if she were going to face him, but then decided better of it and stayed firmly put. Brago thought this slightly amusing and guessed that whatever question she desired to ask, her curiosity would get the better of her. He counted the minutes, waiting to see how long she could last in this heavy silence.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked.

Brago didn't understand. "Obviously, I am leaning against a wall and answering pointless, idiotic questions."

Sorella's mouth tightened in to a thin line. "That's not what I meant. You and Sherry are traveling all over to find mamodo. Why?

Brago turned his head to look out the window again. It was taking far too long for this battle to end due to the weak hearted mamodo wishing they didn't have to fight. Some of these fools just clung to their Book Master like babes to their mothers, hiding in thick forests, hoping to never be discovered, and prolonging the time they had with their human partners. Brago and Sherry had taken it upon themselves to weed them out, to hurry the already delayed battle for king. However, Brago decided to put it far more simply.

"To get stronger."

"Why?" she asked with an infuriatingly childish voice. It seemed she was trying to annoy him on purpose. Brago remained silent; hoping his refusal to talk would stop her. It was a foolish hope. "Is there a mamodo you need to defeat in particular?"

Brago sighed quietly, "Yes. He took something from Sherry and she wants it back."

Silence followed and Brago thought Sorella had finally run dry of questions. "What did he take?"

"Do you ever stop asking insolent questions?" Brago snarled.

Sorella waited with a strange expression upon her face. "What did he take?" she repeated.

"He took her friend and manipulated her mind to be his book keeper," Brago growled.

Sorella tilted her head to look at him with a critical expression. "And you're helping her? Don't get me wrong, but you don't come off as the most helpful, sensitive guy in the world."

"I am _not_ helping Sherry! She'll make me king if I get her friend Koko back."

"Oh," Sorella said stupidly. "So you're getting stronger to become king?"

Hadn't he just said that? There was no need to repeat himself, so Brago remained silent, going back to glare outside at the rain.

"Does… does her friend know she's being used?"

Brago snorted, "Of course not, Zophis manipulated her personality. She's nothing more than a puppet. Typical for this weak species to get controlled so easily…" Brago hissed in an undertone.

"It must be nice," she said in a whisper.

Her tone was so completely different than he had heard come out of her mouth earlier that Brago couldn't resist the urge to look at her. Her eyes were cast downward and swimming with some strange emotion he couldn't quite understand, but her fist resting on the table shook, and he knew the emotions that caused that; fear and anger.

"What must be?" he growled in a low voice.

"To be completely oblivious…" he voice trembled and her eyes burned again with fire.

Brago almost wanted to ask what she meant but then realized he didn't much care. Her business was her business. Silence fell upon the lavish hotel room again, the two not saying anything, doing nothing but waiting for the return of Sherry. Sorella, though, was not in the mood to sit in silence with only poisonous thoughts to keep her company. She needed to know how strong she was; she needed to test her strength. Sorella looked at Brago's impressive form from the corner of her eye and smirked. And she knew just how to test it…

***

Sherry paused in the lobby as she readjusted the bags on her arms. They were starting to cut into her skin and were becoming horribly uncomfortable. She had ordered Jii to go back to the mansion seeing as it was most likely that she and Brago would return to the forest in the search for the mamodo, but it all depended on what he wanted to do with Sorella. He might want to take her back to Sherry's mansion for questioning. In any case, Jii was going to hear from her in the morning once everything had been sorted out.

Sherry sighed as she tapped an irritated foot against the marble floor, waiting for the elevator. Her mind wandered as she stepped in immediately after the doors opened, thoughts muddled. How could that mamodo have survived this long without a Book Master? Sure, she was more human looking than the rest of the mamodo, but her eyes were unlike any in the human world, much too golden, much to bright, a golden brown to rival Zatch Bell's amber eyes. And hadn't Brago said she carried the distinctive scent of power?

Sorella's strength worried Sherry and she feared that if they left Sorella as she was, she could find a Book Master soon and might even give Brago some trouble. Sherry snorted to herself as she stepped onto the floor her room was in. There was no way Brago would lose. Sherry jiggled the key into the lock and turned, opening the door to the hotel room. He wouldn't lose to that girl…

Sherry winced at the sound and sight that met her as she stepped into the hotel room.

"I'M TELLING YOU, YOU LOST!" Sorella screamed into Brago's smug face.

One of Sorella's hands was on her hip and the other was pointing an accusing finger into Brago's face. Sherry was shocked he hadn't bitten it off or anything. Brago had his muscular arms folded tight over his chest and was looking down at Sorella with disdain.

"I obviously didn't, why else would you be making such a fuss?" he explained in a monotone growl.

Sorella slapped a hand to her face. "Because you _cheated_, that's why!"

Brago snorted, "Why would someone like _me_ need to cheat to defeat a weakling like _you_?"

Sorella huffed, unable to counteract this statement. She turned away from Brago childishly and noticed Sherry, blushing pink in embarrassment. Brago walked over to Sherry to take one of the bags off of her arms and threw it onto the bed with a careless flick. He then went to lean against the balcony window, not looking at anything particularly… again.

"What's going on?" Sherry asked curiously.

Sorella immediately went into a rant, gesturing at Brago with all her irritation. "This guy is an absolute cheater! I told him I was stronger than he was and he was all, 'Not likely.' So then I said, 'Fine! Let's prove it!' And then we sat at that table right there and I was just about to win the arm wrestling match thingy, and… YOU SHUT UP!" She snapped at Brago who had just made an interjection that she was indeed NOT winning. Sorella turned back to an amused Sherry. "So THIS GUY resorts to knocking over that glass of water 'accidentally,'" Sorella used finger quotations here, "And I was all surprised and he managed to get my hand down! His win was a fallacy!"

Sherry remained silent, attempting to hold back laughter. Sorella's imitation of Brago's harsh growl-like voice was hilarious and almost spot-on perfect. She also didn't know what was more comical; Brago actually consenting to arm wrestle, or Sorella throwing a fit because he beat her at something she proposed in the first place.

"You shouldn't lose focus in a battle in the first place. If you do, you lose and ultimately die," Brago snarled harshly without looking at her.

Sorella whipped around to face him. "That doesn't change the fact you're a cheater!"

Brago shrugged. "Is it cheating when one uses the field to his own advantage? Is it cheating when one takes advantage of the opponent's weaker attention span?"

"That's it!" Sorella shrieked, leaping at Brago.

"NO!" Sherry cried out, rushing forward, dropping her remaining bag onto the floor, grabbing Sorella's arms. "Calm down!"

Sorella flailed in an attempt to release herself from Sherry's surprisingly strong grasp. "Let me at him! Let me go!"

Brago smirked at her, not even moving an inch, staring at her with smug indifference, as if her actions to attack him worried him less than a punch from a weak insect.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Sorella cried out in fury, kicking her legs wildly.

Sherry glared at him over Sorella's shoulder as she struggled harder. "Brago, don't antagonize her!"

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Sorella cried out in fury, kicking her legs wildly.

"I…" Sherry thought wildly about something to distract Sorella from her rage. "I brought something for you!"

Sorella stopped fighting and turned her head to gaze at Sherry with a jumble of emotions in her golden brown eyes. "For me?" she asked in a small voice.

Sherry nodded, "For you and Brago to try."

Sorella hissed at the sound of Brago's name. Sherry looked at her with a reprimanding look before cautiously releasing her hold on Sorella, rummaging in the bag that Brago had thrown carelessly onto the bed.

"I thought that you two had never tried it before since you're both mamodo so…" Sherry pulled a colorful plastic bag out with colorful explosions on the front. Sorella's eyes widened as they looked upon the package in wonder and curiosity. Brago even looked up from his glaring to stare at it.

"What is it?" He asked with a weary expression, as if he didn't trust her at all. Brago didn't normally eat anything besides raw fish.

"It's called Pop Rocks," Sherry explained as she opened the package, pulling spoons out of her square bag. She handed one to Sorella and tossed the other to Brago. "Come and try it," she suggested.

Brago turned away snootily. "I don't eat human food."

Sorella faced him with a malicious smile. "That's because you're _afraid_ to eat it!"

Brago shoved away from the wall with a "Tch!" sound and dug his spoon into the container, pulling it back out with a full scoop of the candy upon it. Sorella then pulled a scoop out herself and waiting with anticipation. Sherry fixed her eyes upon both of the mamodo, Brago in particular, excited to see their reactions as if she were watching the climactic even in a television show.

Sorella faced Brago with a challenging look, lifting her chin at him obnoxiously. He growled and simultaneously the two poured their spoonfuls into the gaping holes that were their mouths. There was a moment of complete silence as well as a disappointed look on Sorella's face, and an unimpressed look on Brago's. And then…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sorella screamed bloodcurdlingly as she attempted to scrape the candy off of her tongue.

Brago's red eyes disappeared as he spat the sizzling remains of the candy onto the floor, snarling like feral dog, almost enough to stop Sherry from laughing. Almost.

"WHAT THE HELL SHERRY?" he bellowed, fists shaking, eyes wide and returning to normal.

"It exploded my mouth!" Sorella sobbed, tears streaming from her eyes.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO SABOTAGE ME?!" Brago was beside himself, absolutely livid.

Sherry was still laughing with mirth, unable to contain it. Their faces were absolutely priceless! Sorella was huddled in on herself, limbs so compactly entwined that she resembled a knot. Brago's eye twitched and his sharp teeth were bared. He shoved his fists into his pockets, stomping towards the door.

"Where are you going?!" Sorella called out in fear.

"Do do something that actually makes sense! Training!" Brago growled, flinging the door open.

"But… but what if she tries to kill me again!" Sorella cried, eyes widening in fear.

"All the better for me!" Brago yelled as he slammed the door shut.

Sherry's laughing was dying away slowly and she peeked at Sorella who was watching her like a hawk from where she squatted on the floor amidst the pop rock remains. Sherry pressed her fingers to her soft pink lips to silence the laughter that threatened to bubble up in her throat again and strode over to her.

"He's right, you know," she explained, adopting a more serious, and common tone of voice for her. "We really should be training or searching for more mamodo. This tomfoolery has no meaning."

"TOMFOOLERY?" Sorella exclaimed shrilly. "You call exploding my mouth _tomfoolery_?"

Sherry rolled her eyes. "You were just caught by surprise. Now get up and help me pack the supplies into my bag."

Sorella narrowed her eyes as she stood, body language clearly that of a challenging juvenile.

"Why should I? You have nothing to do with me. As a matter of fact, I don't know why I am still here."

Sherry turned and appraised the young girl with her blue eyes, yellow bangs falling into them gracefully. That statement sounded almost small and self convincing, and the look that came into Sorella's eyes whenever Sherry managed to make eye-contact almost seemed like... pity.

"What did Brago tell you?" she hissed.

Sorella lowered her eyes in awkwardness, shuffling her feet, hands clutching themselves behind her back. Her silky hair swung in front of her face to obscure the expression there, but Sherry could picture it all the same. Sherry's shoulder's tightened and she stepped close to Sorella, forcing the girl to look her straight in the eyes.

"Don't you dare go feeling sorry for me, Sorella! Koko is my friend and I will go to any lengths to save her! Don't look down on this ambition."

Sorella averted her gaze again. "It's not that," she whispered.

"Oh?" Sherry demanded in a regal tone, as if commanding someone. "Then what is it?"

"I… I want to help you. And I don't think I will be able to…"

"Why's that?" Sorella remained silent at Sherry's question. "Well? Speak up! If you're going to say something then say it, don't go beating around the bush!"

"He won't let me. He thinks I am weak," Sorella hissed in an undertone, as if Brago's ears were in the room, listing to everything she said.

Sherry's eyes widened and she folded her arms over her chest, mind contemplating. Would this help them or hinder them? A mamodo traveling with them would not only bring more attention to themselves, but more so because she didn't have a Book Master, not to mention her entire attitude rubbed Brago the wrong way and would aggravate him, making him even more difficult to travel with. On the positive side, the time spent with them would lower Sorella's guard and might even make her loyal to them, therefore unlikely to attack. This also would allow Sherry to keep an eye on Sorella's book, not to mention her abilities, and maybe even uncover some weaknesses. Sherry clucked her tongue in thought, mulling the idea over like one rolls food in the mouth, not sure whether they like the taste.

"Well, I think it's a good idea. If you've certainly lasted this long, you must be strong in some regard. And," she added, feeling bold, "You could bring us closer to that mamodo we felt earlier."

Sorella's eye twitched and her limbs gave an involuntary shudder. "Fine. But I won't say much about him until I am sure I can trust you!"

Sherry smiled and handed Sorella a bag with a loaf of bread in it. In Sherry's mind, that kind of thinking was a completely different matter. _Or until you think you can trust us…_


	5. Chapter 5 Cars and Contraptions

**Chapter 5 Cars and Contraptions**

**Author's Note:**

_I am just focusing on Sorella a bit, to make the story more unique. This was advice given to me by a very trusted friend and fellow writer so I would be a fool to not follow it, she's so smart! Just a heads up to everyone else: The only character that I will write in POV for is Sorella. I don't want to be inside the main characters too much because I want them to stay In Character as much as possible. So if the writing is "So I went... blah blah blah," It's always gonna be Sorella. Just to make things not confusing! Well, enjoy the chapter and please, please, PLEASE review! How else can I improve if I don't get reviews? Flames welcome because everyone has a right to their own mind! ___

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own Zatch Bell. Sorella is mine though, please don't take her.

***

_"Mommy!" Sorella called to her mother when she spotted the woman in the doorway to their shabby shack. Sorella's eight year old arms reached for her mother to embrace her. "How was your day?"_

_Sorella's mother smiled, "Better now that you are here! How was school?" _

_"Fine, I beat Yoven at spell practice today. He was mad!" _

_Sorella's mother laughed, "Oh really? And what can you do?" _

_Sorella's warm, golden brown eyes widened, "Light! Pretty white light! Like the moon!" _

_"Well, that's a cause for celebration!" Sorella's mother laughed as she vanished inside the wooden home full of gaps in the walls pitifully filled with dirty rags. She returned holding a loaf of bread and Sorella cried out in joy. _

_"I can go pick berries and it will be like cake!" _

_Sorella's mother patted the girl's cheek with a loving smile. "That's always you, isn't it? Always seeing the whole picture, instead of a glass half empty!" _

_Sorella nodded seriously, silky, chin-length hair bobbing, "Of course! If I prove I can do it, everyone should see things as a whole!" _

_Sorella's mother's eyes tightened with sadness. "Yes…"_

_"Not just the half!" Sorella smiled. "You taught me that, remember?" _

_Her mother laughed and pulled Sorella to her with a warm hug, expressing all the love a mother could give… _

***

I woke gently, the lingering smell of my mother still within my nose, a scent like sweet honey. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I yawned, reflecting on the memory popping up in my sleep, missing my mother even more afterwards. I sighed as I gazed upon the luminescent clock flashing four thirty next to the couch I was sleeping on. I had refused Sherry's offer of the bed, determined that I wouldn't deprive the girl of it herself. Besides, I could hardly sleep anyway. Black eyelashes brushed against my cheeks as I opened and closed my eyes, adjusting to the darkness of the room quickly.

Moonlight peeked through the thin curtains like eager child fingers intruding upon a cookie jar. The carpet was dotted with pale white light were the beams hit, almost like peepholes in the floor. My eyes drifted to the glass window when I saw a minute movement in that direction. Brago was sitting on the railing of the balcony outside, his right knee supporting the right arm casually resting on it. His left leg swung on the other side of the railing, hanging there limply. The spiky outline of his black fur cape was highlighted by silver and his pale ash grey skin seemed to absorb the white light and the black markings on his arms and face stood out like a candle in the darkest of rooms. His mouth was downturned into the ever so present scowl and his eyes seemed to be vacant, almost as if his thoughts were elsewhere or maybe he was… what had Sherry called it, _meditating_? I rolled my eyes, snorting quietly. Meditating, yeah right, Brago probably sleeps when he's "out hunting" or "exercising…" and then when Sherry wakes up he's all, "I don't_ need_ sleep…"

I watched him for a moment, wondering about his abilities. His muscles proved he was skilled in combat, not to mention a clear indication of pure physical strength. I also thought briefly about my own abilities and how they would compare to his. He looked strong, strong and powerful. Dark. I shuddered under my thin blanket and pulled it closer to my curled up body, suddenly chilled. I attempted to fall asleep again but couldn't, now that my mind was coherent and thinking so deeply about things. It was the same thing as not being able to go to sleep after using the bathroom in the morning… impossible for me. I sat up and lifted my arms tightly above me in a lengthy stretch, my achy joints rejoicing in the movement. I rubbed my arms, not liking the bandages there placed by Sherry when she first brought me here after my battle. My head, I guess, wasn't that bad a wound when she cleaned it up seeing as she didn't bother to wrap it. But all the same, I hoped that the bandages would come off my arms soon, they looked so weird. I didn't like them at all… not that I was vain or anything… I guess…

I looked briefly at the snoozing lump of blankets that was Sherry before standing and tip toeing over to the balcony, opening the glass door a smidgen so I could squeeze out. Brago did not turn in my direction nor give the slightest hint that he was aware of my presence. This irked me to no end; I disliked being ignored. I waved my hand in front of his face to get his attention, but the only movement I noticed was a small eye twitch of irritation.

I took that as a confirmation that he knew I was there. I squatted on the ground, back against the bars of the balcony, looking up at him.

"It's going to be dawn soon, I am surprised you haven't woken Sherry yet," I observed.

Brago's voice was a low snarl, "She will be more resilient if she has more sleep. I will wait for a while longer."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, five o'clock was letting the girl sleep in all right… "Don't you think that's a little early?"

Brago scoffed, "Maybe for a human."

"For anybody," I corrected sternly.

"If it's so early," Brago taunted, red eyes gleaming silver from the moonlight for a moment as he looked down at me. "Then why are _you_ awake?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, just am."

Brago sighed as he turned away. I was tempted to bring up my staying with the two of them, wondering how he had taken the news when Sherry told him. Sherry had shooed me away before Brago returned, thinking it would be easier to convince him what she had decided if I wasn't in the room. She seemed to think that my being there would annoy him… I rolled my eyes again. A loud sound echoed from below us, a kind of horn. I jumped and twisted abruptly, my back cracking as I turned sharply around. I looked below at the street a few floors down.

There were fast moving objects with eyes that let off a bright light. I clutched the bars as I looked at how fast they were moving. I hadn't been in a city so far, just the forest and fields and such. I was unconscious when Brago and Sherry brought me here, so I had no idea what those things were.

"Brago," I whispered. "What are those?"

He grumbled an insult I didn't catch before saying, "Those are cars. Humans ride in them because they're so slow on their own." He looked down at me in annoyance when I didn't reply, since I still didn't understand. "They're a type of machine that goes really fast, like box with wheels."

"Oh," was all I said. I thought that I had best pretend to know what he was talking about even though nothing made sense.

Brago turned from me in irritation. "You'll see soon enough, Sherry's servant is coming to take us to Sherry's hometown. She wants to do some training and get some kind of staff or something."

That intrigued me. "Training?" I asked.

"It's where you practice fighting and cooperation with an ally to improve your strength level and..."

"I _know_ what training is!" I interrupted with a snap. "What I meant_ was_ that if you guys are training, does that mean me too?"

Brago smirked. "Not that it would make a difference for your abilities."

My eyebrows slanted downward as I glared at him. "Ha ha, you're hilarious," I said sarcastically with a wave of my hand. We sat in silence for a while and I could see the clock now flashing five fifteen. I hadn't realized out small conversation had taken up so much time. "It's after five," I told him, doubting he didn't know it despite him not seeing the clock.

Brago said nothing but turned towards the far horizon when the first golden rays of the sun peeked above it, casting the dark sky in a yellowish-blue light. He swung his black boot clad foot over the railing, nearly kicking me in the head. He took no notice of this, of course, or just didn't care. I assumed it was the latter… He pushed the glass door open all the way, so hard that it shuddered in its frame. I hurried into the room after him, eager to get away from the blaring noises of the cars below.

"Sherry!" I heard Brago snarl, causing the girl to stir. He shook her shoulder but when she merely mumbled an incoherent, although irritable, sentence in which his name was barely distinguished, he clutched the blankets with a clawed hand and ripped them off of her body with a snap.

Sherry rolled over and looked at him with tired, angry eyes. "What?" she hissed.

"If you want to clean up before that man servant of yours gets here, then you need to get up. Now," Brago growled as he slouched against the dresser opposite the bed.

Sherry grumbled as she dragged her legs from the bed to the floor, and then walked… scratch that, wobbled, over to the bathroom. Bright light filled the room for a second until the door closed, leaving nothing but a horizontal line beneath the door. The sound of a toilet flushing followed immediately by the shower came from within. Deciding to make myself of use, and to avoid talking to Brago, I busied myself with gathering all of Sherry's belongings, besides the black book on the table for obvious reasons. I didn't want to give Brago an excuse to attack me, not this early in the morning, anyway.

I shoved my feet into my heeled shoes, or boots I suppose, once I finished and then sat down on the edge of the bed opposite of Brago. I kicked my legs to pass the time but as it dragged on and on, I realized that Sherry was taking an awfully long time in the shower. I could sense Brago's irritation because his eyes were getting narrower and narrower. In an effort to save Sherry some dignity and embarrassment from him storming in there to yell at her to hurry, I stood from the bed.

"I'll go check on her, shall I?" I laughed nervously, hurrying into the bathroom after knocking quickly. "Sherry?" I asked.

"Sorella? What are you doing in here?" her voice asked as it drifted over the pink flower curtains of the large shower.

"Well, Brago was getting irritated and I didn't want him barging in here with you in the shower, so I did it instead."

The shower water was turned off though steam continued to rise up from the enclosure in misty swirls. A peachy hand reached from behind the curtain and grasped a white towel hanging on the wall. Next, the shower curtain was thrust open, water droplets thrown from the fabric like a drizzle. The towel was wrapped firmly around Sherry's skinny body and her blonde hair dripped with water.

"That was nice of you," Sherry stated with a suspicious gleam in her blue eyes as she walked over to her clothes.

I refused to be angry at this. "We girls have gotta stick together!" I laughed sincerely.

Sherry looked at me, and then as she pulled on her underwear, followed by her elaborate dress. She smiled at me genuinely then, though her eyes were still tight.

"Yes, that's true!" she said, wiping the fog off of the wide mirror before pulling a comb through her long blond locks.

I watched from where I was, curious as to what a human woman's routine of beauty was. Sherry didn't seem to have a lot of makeup or anything I assumed a human woman would have. Not that she needed it, I guessed. Sherry was pretty on her own without all that weird stuff. Sherry pulled a strange thing off of the wall from its holder and it looked like some sort of weapon. She flipped a switch on it up and a loud buzzing sound filled the bathroom followed by a warm gust of air.

Panic flared up and I rushed forward to snatch the thing from Sherry's hand, attempting to stop it from causing her bodily harm.

"Sherry!" I yelled, holding the thing at arm's length between my two fingers as if it could explode any second. "Destroy it! Before it kills you!"

I was angry to see Sherry eyeing me with a critical look and with mocking eyebrows high on her forehead. She smiled and took the buzzing weapon of death from my twitchy hand and laid it face up on her palms.

"This is called a blow dryer," she explained in a tired voice. "I turn it on and warm air comes out of it to dry my hair."

My eyes widened and I leaned forward to look at it skeptically. Sherry turned it upward to face me and my hair fluttered over my face, eyes squinting as the warm air crashed into my skin. After a moment of discomfort, my eyes shut and I began to feel pleasure. It felt nice, the warm air on my cheeks and my hair blowing around my head gently like feathers.

I smiled at Sherry as she resumed the drying of her hair. I remained with her, asking her question after question about different things in the bathroom, wondering what they did, and how they worked. The mamodo world was not an uncivilized one, but it wasn't exactly a world with technology, not like the human world at least.

"I know that some places have lights that turn on when you clap, but I don't know how they work," I asked, having always wondered about this since I heard about it.

Sherry looked at me from the corner of her eye as she placed the blow dryer back on the wall and then cleaned up the counter, replacing things like her toothbrush back into a tiny bag.

"How do you know about that if you were in the forest since you got here?"

I paused and then shrugged simply. "Someone told me."

Sherry hesitated a moment, looking at me with an odd expression, almost as if she were studying me, and then began describing what she knew about "the clapper" as we exited the bathroom. However, her explanation was cut short upon seeing an extremely angry Brago in the doorway, not more than three feet from us.

"If I didn't know that being excruciatingly slow was a habit of yours, I might have thought you died in there!" he growled into Sherry's unabashed face.

She sighed and dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand. "Sorella got freaked out by the blow dryer and insisted I explain to her what it was and that is was NOT a weapon."

My mouth fell open as I looked at her, completely flabbergasted. She was throwing me under the bus! At least, I think that was the common human term for betrayal… Brago shot a glare at me as I was about to deny this statement and turned away sharply. I wrinkled my nose in annoyance as I stared heatedly at Sherry who smirked and lifted her hands in a helpless gesture.

"When it comes to Brago, it's survival of the fittest. No choice, I would rather him hate you than me for the day."

"Gee, thanks!" I hissed as I grabbed my spell book from the table and left all her supply bags on the ground for her to pick up. My name was called from her but I ignored it and stormed down the hall to where Brago seemed to be waiting.

A button with a downward arrow was lit up with a bright orange color on the wall next to what looked like two closed doors, but had no handles. I examined these with interest while Sherry lugged her two bags towards us, glaring at me.

"Survival of the fittest," I echoed with a snobby look.

A "ding" suddenly pierced my eardrums and caught my attention. The doors were opening and while I stood staring at the small, boxy space revealed behind them, Sherry and Brago entered, waiting for me.

"Are you coming or what?" Sherry asked while Brago held a hand against the door to keep it from closing.

"I'm supposed to get in there?" I whispered, clutching my book to my chest.

Brago rolled his crimson eyes, "Just get in!" he snapped.

I hurriedly rushed into the small compartment but fear rose within my stomach like bubbles when the doors closed behind me and the whole room started to move.

"AH!" I cried out, hands clinging to Brago's fur cloak. "Brago! We've been eaten by a monster! Kill it! Right now!"

Brago seemed disgusted by the fact I was touching him but made no move to remove my hands. Probably because that would entail him touching me willingly, so he merely looked down with a mocking smirk.

"We're in an elevator."

"So kill it, how strong can an Elevator be?" I questioned shrilly staring up at him. "You're supposedly _so_ powerful, it should be easy!"

What's the matter with them?! Why aren't they freaking out about the shuddering jerks and the swooping sensation of falling in their stomachs? Surely I am not the only one experiencing it! How can they not be panicking over the fact an Elevator ate them?! I snapped my head over to Sherry when I heard her chuckle.

"No, Sorella, it's another machine, like the blow dryer. This is almost like a portable room and it moves its passengers from floor to floor."

Brago sneered, "It's for lazy humans like Sherry who don't like to walk down stairs."

The biggest jerk yet joggled my body and my hands clenched the fur cloak tighter still as the "elevator" came to a stop. Brago scoffed as he flicked my hands off of him, walking out of the opening doors. I followed closely behind, not wanting to be swallowed up again. Sherry walked over to the main counter to pay for the room before joining Brago and I, and then the three of us walked out of the elaborately furnished lobby (which made no sense to me seeing as no one slept there anyway) to the street outside.

To my embarrassment, my panic took hold of me again, causing me to cling to Brago's strong arm a second time. He growled a warning but I took no heed. If one of these fast moving monsters attacked me, I could hide behind him and he would be more likely to survive! He would be my shield!

"They're cars, remember," he snarled, attempting to pry my trembling fingers off of him.

I refused to be budged, especially when a long, black monster, something like a panther in the mix of all these cars, came really close to us, stopping. An old man stepped out of the left side, smiling like a maniac at Sherry, waving a hand over his head ridiculously, as if we couldn't see him. How could we _not_ next to that black monster?! The man, who I realized was dressed nicely as he came around the muzzle of the animal monster, took the bags from Sherry, talking very rapidly.

"Miss Sherry, it's been too long! How are you, how's the hunt for those dastardly weak mamodos going? You are uninjured I trust?"

"Please," Sherry scoffed as she opened the car door to slide inside. "As if such weaklings could injure me."

Brago followed behind Sherry, crossing his arms in his normal sitting position. When I remained outside, peering into the small, cushiony space, he eyed me with speculation.

"Well?" he asked.

The man touched my shoulder and I reacted instinctively, grabbing his arm and pulling it behind his back, shoving him against the car's wall. Brago chuckled wickedly to himself while Sherry scolded me. I quickly released the man with a quiet apology. I stepped back from him, feeling completely idiotic. How more out of place could I get?

"Is this lady a new friend of yours, Miss Sherry?" the man questioned turning towards me.

His smile behind his thick grey beard was plain to see and his dark eyes twinkled with a sincere light. I liked this man very much right away, somehow knowing he was a good person. He held out a hand which I merely looked at, and upon reflecting the tidbits of information about the human world that I knew, I recalled that I was to shake his hand in greeting. I grasped it and shook his old, wrinkled hand, noting how much smaller mine seemed to be inside his thick fingers.

"My name is Jii and I am Miss Sherry's devoted servant! A pleasure to meet you!" he greeted jovially.

"I am Sorella. Brago and Sherry helped me out. A little," I added, not wanting to sound like I was weak or anything.

Brago scoffed and my head swiveled in his direction.

"Do you wanna go at it again, punk?!" I snarled. My nerves were already on edge due to the cars and whatnot, so his attitude bothered more than it normally would. "I won't allow you to cheat again!"

Jii looked confused for a moment before peering at Sherry from around me.

"She's a mamodo," Sherry said quickly as if to get it out of the way.

"No!" Jii cried out in surprise.

He turned to consider me and I felt horribly wrong. Not that this man was a pervert or anything of the sort, but I certainly felt out of place… too human looking to be a mamodo, and too strange to be a human… I didn't seem to fit in anywhere! My mood escalated to the point of explosion.

"What?!" I growled in a shiver inducing voice. "This book isn't enough _proof_ for you? Am I that _odd_? Is there something _wrong_ with me?!"

I felt a little bad when he held his hands up in a helpless, apologetic gesture, but I retained my glare, in too foul a mood now to remove it.

"No! No, I am sorry! Please get in, and we'll head out!" he stammered nervously.

I wondered vaguely if this guy had a bad experience with foul mamodos, and after looking at Brago quickly, I ceased to wonder, but _knew_ that he had a bad experience. I turned towards the car and my vicious face was replaced by an apprehensive one. I timidly put one leg onto the floor of the car and ducked inside next to Brago, shrinking away from the door as it was closed behind me by Jii. Sherry was pulling a black strap around her body and into a clip, which she explained was a seat belt. Brago did not use this and I guessed it was because he doubted such a flimsy looking thing would help him at all. He would probably consider it an insult if someone even suggested he use it to protect himself… the car engine roared to life and I quickly pulled my seat belt over my own body, deciding not to take any chances.

I squeaked a little once the car started moving and wrapped my arms around my legs, my book pressed firmly between my stomach and thighs. Brago laughed meanly at me and I looked up at him, trying to glare, but when the car jostled over a bump, it was impossible to be intimidating.

"You're a fool to be frightened by something so ridiculous."

This irked me. "Well, I can say the same to _you_ about pop rocks!"

Brago snarled at me, baring his teeth, while Sherry roared with laughter and Jii asked her for an explanation, which Sherry was more than happy to give. This made Brago even madder.

"I was _not_ afraid!" Brago insisted, crimson eyes vanishing in his anger.

In my own fear, I wanted to hurt someone as much as possible, and the best way to harm Brago was to harm his pride.

"That sounds a little self convincing to me! You were fairly eager to get those wretched things out of your mouth and made quite the fuss!"

"YOU were the one who screamed, not me!" Brago clenched his fist and shoved his face into mine aggressively. "And if you mention this to anyone in the mamodo world, I will KILL you!"

I looked away pointedly, adopting an innocent tone of voice, "Weeeell, I don't see why I shouldn't be able to mention it if you weren't really afraid…"

This shut Brago up and he slouched against the seat with crossed arms, a furious expression on his face. Ha, ha, victory again! I laughed and felt instant relief when Jii turned into a drive way with the largest house I had ever seen at the end of it, finally stopping. Sherry and Brago exited the car on their side while I unraveled my tightly wound limbs and opened my door, making to get out. I fell a little, however, seeing as I still needed to unbuckle the infernal strap!

I pulled and yanked and twisted into the strangest contortions imaginable while Sherry, Brago, and Jii all watched me with amused expressions. Infuriated by their teasing faces, I just grabbed two different sections and yanked, my mamodo strength tearing the stupid contraption apart, therefore freeing me from the horrible monster car. I growled a little as I slammed the car door shut so hard that the glass shattered completely, as if it were as fragile as tissue paper.

Sherry and Jii were gaping with horror struck expressions while Brago scoffed and turned into the building.

"About time she used her strength," was all he said while I hurried past Jii and Sherry, feeling immensely stupid. "But we'll really test it at training tomorrow."

This was, without a doubt, one of the worst days in my life, not to mention humiliating. Thinking to myself as I looked at Brago and how his muscles bulged under his clothing, I decided that training tomorrow was not going to improve matters at all. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye and was startled to see him glaring at me with a nasty smile on his face, no doubt planning his revenge against my comments in the car.

I quickly looked away. No, tomorrow would not be better at all.


	6. Chapter 6 Surprising Strength

**Chapter 6 Surprising Strength**

**Author's Note:**

_Hi all, here's chapter 6! I am starting to think that I am updating my story far too early… perhaps I should write these ahead of time and add them a few weeks between each other, you know, to add suspense (grins like the Cheshire cat! But it's so weird to have a chapter done and not submit it… (frowns) ANYWAY, this one was a neat to write, I just hope that I am not rushing things. I just thought the last chapter, though fun and nice, didn't really have any new information… so this one I put some in! Ah well, enjoy and please review! I really, really, really like reviews! :D _

_Also, thanks to Rahkshi500 for that little guidance for that Zatch Bell website for all the spells and things, and suffixes, and meanings, and all that jazz on his Zatch Bell fiction (How Brago Stole Christmas)! I had already planned out Sorella's spells with a combination of Italian words to describe the spells and what they did, but adding the Zatch Bell meanings to them, even altering a few to make it more realistic, really helped me a lot! Now it seems more true to the story of Zatch Bell, and that is important to me, since I want to honor the rightful owner of the story. Thanks again, Rahkshi500, it super helped what I had planned already! Just wanted to give props where they're due. _

_**Disclaimer**__: I do NOT own Zatch Bell. Sorella, the "strong mamodo," and his Book Master are the only ones that I created. Please don't take them. Thank you, and now, finally, to the chapter! _

***

Training the next morning was wretched. I hated it. It was horrible. It was wretched. I hated it. Every minute of it. Brago was ruthless when it came to testing my strength. He rushed at me with all his might, nailing me with a good, bruising punch multiple times. He was constantly inputting little snippets here and there about how weak I was and how I would slow him down and how I shouldn't be here. But then, one time, after such a comment, I dodged his attack and swung my foot beneath his feet to knock him down, hand at his throat, before jumping away and he seemed to have nothing more to say after that. I grudgingly thanked him, though, for his ruthless methods since another spell showed up in my book due to the pressure I was under. Ha, who says I need a Book Master?

Sherry had chuckled a little at me tripping up her mamodo, but Brago heard it, and she regretted it by the time her training session rolled around. I was surprised to see that she moved extraordinarily well with Brago; they were almost in tune with each other's minds about how to move and coordinate their fighting techniques. I even felt for a strong moment that they would win the whole thing. I seriously thought that anyone who underestimated them, specifically Sherry, would be quickly eliminated.

The training droned on for the entire morning. Near noon, Sherry and I were both covered in sweat and gasping for breath, while Brago seemed unfazed… how is that even _possible_? He's wearing a _black fur_ ensemble for crying out loud! How can he _not_ sweat? Thankfully, Jii came in for Sherry at this time, claiming he had her staff ready and wanted her to see it. Sherry agreed, to my immense pleasure, because that meant I could go find something to eat. Generally after hours upon hours of fierce combat with a strong mamodo like Brago one tends to get hungry Not that this statement pertains to me, my stomach isn't growing in the slightest. That was sarcasm.

Sherry's manor was enormous, so big it was daunting! I got lost four times already, and I hadn't even been here for more than two days! The halls all had the same dark floor carpet down the middle, the same stone arches, and the same armor, the same kind of paintings, the same layout, and the same, cold, dark, gloomy atmosphere! It was ridiculous, it was almost one o'clock and I hadn't eaten anything because I couldn't find the stupid kitchen! I tended to stomp when I was angry, so right now it was almost as if an elephant were roaming the halls of Sherry's large home.

"AUGH!" I screamed. "If this is a mansion, then where are all the servants?! Where are the people that can help me around this infernal labyrinth?!"

"Sherry sent them all away for a bit until the Battle for king is over," a raspy voice sounded from behind me.

I freaked out and swung my arm around, curling my fingers into a fist. Brago caught it in a clawed hand, glaring at me with indifference.

"Oh," I said stupidly. "Brago, it's you."

He dropped my fist and shoved his hands into his pockets. "How can I be anyone else?"

I flushed in embarrassment. I started to walk away and was aggravated that he was behind me. Did he have nothing better to do than distract me while I was on a scavenger hunt for food?

"Are you looking for the kitchen?" he asked.

I said nothing, not wanting to give him any satisfaction.

"Are you lost?" Brago's voice was quickly turning into a mocking sneer.

I remained quiet.

"Hmm," was all he said but in that tiny, smug sound I heard all the insults in the world. I whirled around in fury, ready to attack, ready to whack him on the head with my white book. In case no one noticed, I am NOT pleasant when I need sustenance.

"So what if I am?" I growled. "It's not like I am used to big buildings like this! I didn't exactly grow up in a big house, you know!"

Brago looked at me for a moment, almost curious. Almost. I snapped my mouth shut and turned away from him, berating myself for revealing a bit of my past. Drat, drat, drat him and his annoying growling! I secretly was grateful that Brago didn't really ask questions about someone, or even talk to them for that matter, unless it pertained to fighting. Normally it was frustrating, but right now, it was a blessing in disguise.

"You were a slum brat, weren't you?"

Screw blessing, this guy sucked!!!!! "_What of it_?" I hissed.

"Just gathering information."

I snarled, "Trying to figure out weaknesses, eh?" _Typical… fighting obsessed brute…_

"I don't need to try, they're pretty obvious," he said in a monotone rasp.

Rage filled within me once I realized he was being serious. I clenched my teeth in an effort to not scream. I turned a corner and walked down a hallway, one I didn't remember being in. Not that that helped much, seeing as everything looked so darn similar! Where were the distinctions? Why does everything have to MATCH?!

"Do you even know where you're going?"

I whipped around and shoved my face into his, like he did in the car earlier yesterday. "No, and I don't see why you are still following me! You know your way around and could help me, but _no_! You have to be _annoying_! Let me be, you arrogant jerk!" Me being outrageously hungry did nothing for my attitude…

Brago scoffed and walked past me, not saying anything. I watched him go, glad that he was leaving me to my useless, hungry wandering. Then he stopped and stood still for what seemed like ages until I realized he was waiting for me. I smirked and hurried after him, heeled boots clacking against the floor. I hooked my hands behind my back as I walked beside him, smiling, my mood abruptly shifting now that I knew I was going to get food in a matter of minutes.

"Aw, is the dark, scary mamodo helping me?" I asked in a childish voice.

Brago's face remained expressionless as he said, "You need to be fit for training. I want to fight without having to hold back. If you are going to travel with us, I need to know your physical strength, seeing as you can't use your spells."

My lips pursed in irritation but I didn't say anything since this sounded actually reasonable. I hated to admit it, but I would have thought the same… grr, I hated it when he made sense! _Besides_, I thought, _I want to see his powers too… I barely saw what he was capable of earlier, maybe the next raining session I will learn more…_ We turned left and then right and there was the kitchen, the large, gleaming, amazingly stocked kitchen of fantastic, rich, expensive food! HUZZAH! I smiled widely and made to head for the cupboard when Brago's arm pointed in front of me, a clawed finger directing my gaze out the patio doors to a private lake.

"There are some nice fish in there if you want," he explained. "I had fish from there before; they're pretty good, especially when they're nice and fresh."

I gulped before saying, "I… I don't like fish."

I winced when Brago's head turned quickly in my direction, actually surprised. He frowned and his eyes were even wide.

"You… don't like fish?" Brago asked. "What about meat?"

My cheeks burned and I felt like a weirdo again. After all, _all_ mamodo loved yellowtail, right?

"I like meat…" I said. Brago seemed to relax a little and I regretted that I needed to elaborate more in case he brought me a raw cow in the future forest travels or something. In the smallest voice possible I told him, "But I like my meat cooked."

Brago's red eyes widened even more, more expression there than I had ever seen in them.

"That's impossible, mamodo prefer meat raw… it gives us strength… and all love fish."

I avoided his inquisitive, suspicious gaze, feeling small. I bit my lip and hurried over to the large pantry, opening the doors and rushing inside, anything to get away from Brago. I looked upon the boxes and bags of food, not really sure what I wanted to eat, nor what was there. I felt a presence behind me and I turned around swiftly to see Brago standing there, wearing a fierce expression on his ferocious face._ He really can be frightening when he wanted to,_ I thought shakily.

"What are you hiding?" Brago demanded fiercely.

"No…nothing…" I stammered pitifully. Yeah, because he would _totally_ buy that…

A clawed hand flashed towards me and grasped my neck, pulling me to his snarling face.

"You _are_ lying! What are you hiding and, for your sake, you had better be believable!"

I clenched my teeth and brought my knee upwards to strike his stomach. He released his hold on my neck so I swung my fist and it connected to the side of his head, punching him away from me. I sprinted away from him, hoping that I could find Sherry before he killed me. I clutched my book tightly to my chest and as I headed for the door of the kitchen, into the hallway, I rammed into something soft and squishy. Looking up I exhaled in relief at the sight of Sherry, briefly noting the staff with an emerald on top, and rushed behind her when I heard a frighteningly feral snarl.

"Brago! What's going on?" Sherry demanded, hands going to her hips.

"Brago's going to kill me!" I shot out before anything else happened.

"This wretch is lying to us!" Brago growled, trying to claw at me from behind Sherry, who, admirably, stayed her ground. "She's hiding something!"

"Why are you so upset? You have your own secrets about your past, you're _always_ hiding something," Sherry pointed out, though threw a quick, suspicious look in my direction.

She told me plainly in that look that she wanted an explanation later. She was demanding one. I lowered my gaze, shamefaced. Brago was livid, his crimson eyes gone again as he thrust his snarling face into Sherry's. It seemed like a habit of his… didn't he know about personal space?

"Why are you defending her? You, the least trusting of the two of us?" he demanded.

Sherry and Brago went on like this for a good five to ten minutes and as each tick ticked, I began to feel worse and worse. I was tearing them apart, little by little; I could see that, despite my short time being here. Not even a week and I was threatening to unravel their already frayed relationship. My hands shook as fear took over me again, doubt replacing my stubborn confidence. Darn this ridiculous paranoia of mine! I sucked in a deep breath, holding it securely in my lungs, before walking from behind Sherry towards the patio door. My dread to leave made my feet feel heavy. It was as if each step pulled me closer and closer to falling through the floor from the weight gathering at the soles of my shoes.

Their arguing stopped as Sherry asked, "Where are you going, Sorella?"

I refused to face them; I couldn't bear it if they saw me wearing this kind of expression.

"I refuse to be a wedge in how you two operate. I refuse to push you apart just by being here. I appreciate you saving me. I wish you luck in the tournament, and now I will leave, go my own path. I will find the mamodo with the purple book and try to be king… no, wait, queen. If I can accomplish burning that book, I will deem myself worthy of actually trying for the title of rulership. I hope you rescue Koko, Sherry, truly I do."

"Sorella," Sherry started to say, her tone threatening that a persuasive speech was heading my way, but thankfully, for once, Brago intervened.

"Let her go," he grumbled. "She can't use her spells, she's nothing but trouble, I find her suspicious, and we can find the strong mamodo on our own. We don't need her."

_We don't need her_… the words had a bite to it, like teeth coated in acid, burning me as they punctured my skin. No, they certainly didn't need me. I walked out the door into the garden-like area with the pond, hesitating before closing the door behind me without turning. I couldn't bear to look at Sherry; I liked her very much even though I didn't really know her all that well. I could relate to her in many ways… I truly wanted to help her find Koko… I wanted to aid her in getting her friend back…

But not if it forced Brago and Sherry apart, threatening their chances at the crown_ and_ Koko. No, I wouldn't have that on my conscience. Looking ahead of me at the rolling mounds of green hills and the thick bunches of forest ahead, I couldn't help but feel like a small, lost child. I pushed away all my nervous negativity, straining to regain my old, upbeat determination again with one thought in mind: beating the mamodo with the purple book, even if it resulted in me losing the crown myself. That was my goal and I would see it through, no matter what. I took a deep breath and as the sun's warm rays hit my skin, I stepped forward onto the path of my new mind set.

***

Sherry watched Sorella go with a certain dread, one she hadn't expected to feel. It was a kind of sadness, a form of regret that filled her up as she watched Sorella's figure get smaller and smaller, her shimmering hair blowing behind her in luminescent threads, the hand holding her white book trembling as she clutched it tightly, betraying her fear of being alone. Sherry hadn't expected to feel so saddened at Sorella leaving. She _shouldn't_ want Sorella around, and seeing as Sorella was technically the enemy, not to mention a mamodo, Sherry's instincts should propel Sorella far away from her due to the mystery surrounding her like a dark cloud. A strange emptiness filled within her stomach when Sorella's figure was finally gone from her bright blue gaze.

Sherry sharply turned her head, blonde hair swishing around her face, at Brago, who ignored her, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"Way to go, Brago, you insensitive boor," she snarled, absolutely infuriated.

Brago continued to ignore her but after minutes of her glaring at him consistently, he became irritated. He growled under his breath and still refused to look at her, even when he talked to her next.

"I don't see why you are so upset. It's not like she would have contributed anything, not to mention, you barely know her."

Sherry huffed, unable to deny this statement. "Regardless of that, don't you think we would have met up with that strong mamodo sooner had she been here? Her agility was excellent, her movements graceful, and she even punched you with enough force to get your grip on her throat off!" Brago looked at her inquisitively. "Yes, I saw it! It was a good thing I did to, you looked like you wanted to throttle her!"

Brago turned from her quickly so she wouldn't see his face. It seemed as if he were embarrassed she had seen him been momentarily overpowered by someone he had constantly labeled as weak.

"Forget her. It's not as if she is of any worth."

"Brago!" Sherry snapped, absolutely incredulous that he was being such a wretch. Sure, he may be a grumpy, rude, harsh, over-worker, but he had never been… purposefully malicious. He was never mean without a reason, and those were normally ones that made sense, things that were spoken for the better! Brutally honest, that's what Jii had called it. Sherry had called it being an obstinate mule.

"I completely understand your point, Brago," a heady voice boomed.

Sherry spun around, staff at the ready, black book in her hand, and heart power ready to send out spells. Brago clenched his fists, clearly aggravated he hadn't sensed the mamodo's presence until he spoke. Now that even Sherry felt the crushing weight of his strength, Sherry couldn't believe he hadn't noticed earlier.

A tall, enormously tall, man about seven, possibly seven and a half, feet of height stood in the kitchen's doorway. He had a square jaw, almost as if a box were stuck onto his face and painted bright peach. His skin was rosy, almost fancy, which was quite fitting seeing as he was garbed in such expensive clothing that Sherry had only viewed a few times her entire life, Sherry, the _billionaire's_ daughter! His doublet was glinting with numerous jewels of all colors, almost enough for a complete crayon box. There were some the size of a pea while there was also huge ones the size of an orange. His buttons gleamed gold and due to the neck tie stuffed into his shirt with numerous ruffles and lace, they threatened to pop off. His sleeves flared out from his hands in ridiculously wavy ruffles like the ones at his neck. His eyes were an impossibly rich violet, almost hypnotic in their beauty.

Such a pretty eye color, Sherry marveled, before cursing herself about losing focus. His high heeled brown silk boots had gleaming gold buttons all the way to his lower thighs, which were clad in cream colored tights. Sherry thought this guy looked like an original Aristocrat. A small, skinny girl was trembling at his side holding a purple book shining with light and heart energy.

"Brago!" Sherry exclaimed. "This is that mamodo Sorella is looking for!"

The mamodo's mouth twisted into a gruesome grimace at Sorella's name. "Sorella?" he inquired with his rich, deep voice. "I thought I sensed her around her with some strong mamodo but I see she flew the coup… how unfortunate… you really wanted to see her, didn't you, Rita?" he smiled down at his Book Master.

Rita shook her head violently, brown eyes wide, chin length light, mousy brown hair flying around her face in ragged tangles. Her small fingers trembled as she clutched the book, mouth morphing into a crooked line as she held back a cry of despair.

Sherry felt furious at this girl's face; it was plain to see the girl didn't want to be here. Sherry looked at the girl closely, feeling like there was something similar about her… it was then that Sherry noticed a black line, almost like a thick thread, coming from the girl's left temple to the mamodo's right hand pointer finger.

The mamodo noticed Sherry looking and smiled maliciously, "I need to keep her calling out spells, don't I? How else can I destroy all these weak mamodo? Besides, she seemed to have trouble coming with me, so, I needed to give her a little push… it's aggravating, to say the least, that she needs it constantly, though…" he sighed melodramatically with a flourish of a hand. His fingernails were painted purple and filed to perfection. "It seems the closer I get to Sorella, the harder she resists…"

"How do you know Sorella?" Sherry demanded. This mamodo was just like Zophis, manipulating humans for their sick purposes… but Sherry couldn't help but feel momentarily grateful that Zophis gave Koko a completely new personality… even _that_ is better than what's happening to this girl…

"It's like Koko," Sherry snarled.

"No, Koko is completely oblivious…" she heard Brago murmur in disagreement. Sherry peered at him with curiosity, wanting confirmation. "Sorella said it must be nice for Koko because she is oblivious to the evil she's doing…"

Sherry clenched her teeth, wanting to completely annihilate this mamodo! "Brago! I want to destroy him!!!"

Brago shifted into a fighting stance, ready for her to call a spell. The mamodo chuckled, chest ruffles bouncing as he did. Sherry found him incredibly pompous and arrogant, the most pompous and arrogant thing she had ever met and she knew quite a few from her mother's parties and whatnot.

"Oh, I can't fight you right now!" he laughed. "I will eventually, but I need to get that wench out of the way first! Rita wants to see her _so_… And I _must _please my Book Master!"

Rita shook her head fiercer than ever. "No Lance, please! Don't go after her! Let's… why don't we go somewhere else?"

Lance's eyes narrowed in irritation. "How many times have I told you?! It's pronounced L-au-w-n-ce… NOT L-aa-y-nce… Do NOT make me sound common, filthy human!"

"_Reis_!" Sherry screamed, causing Brago to launch a bright, purple sphere of gravity towards Lance, not shouting a stronger spell until she knew this mamodo's abilities better.

"Human!" Lance barked.

"_Teo Nerosen_!" Rita sobbed.

A black solid ball, almost like a cannon ball, shot from Lance's palm and met Reis midair. The two were of equal merit and cancelled each other out. Brago growled low and Lance no longer had a crooked, teasing smile.

"Maybe you are more of the priority rather than that filthy Sorella. I will have to cause her pain after I burn your black book. "

"Why are you so focused on her?!" Sherry demanded "What's your affiliation with Sorella?"

Lance's vein in his forehead throbbed. "Affiliation, that's the problem. It's the fact that she even exists, if you catch my meaning." His pearly white teeth bared into a grimace. "That filthy half-breed!"

Sherry's breath caught in her throat. "Half breed?" Sherry cast Brago a look but it seemed he was just as surprised as she was.

Lance's face lit up with absolute joy. "Oh! You didn't know?! Well, allow me to ruin your previous impression on her! Her mother fell in love with her own Book Master in the previous battle! Towards the end of the battle they were… _intimate_," Lance explained delicately. "Upon having her book burned, Sorella's mother went back to the demon world and a few months… whoopsi! Filthy Sorella was born! Mamodo age differently than humans, so that's why Sorella seems so young, even 1000 years after her mother had her! Sorella's daddy is, however, passed by now, but this little girl, here, is Sorella's distant, distant relative! Apparently, the king allowed the filthy mixed blooded heathens contact with their human relative through some sort of mirror! So, once daddy had passed, his other child talked to her, and then their child, and then their child, and so on goes the long chain of horrendousness!"

Lance paused a moment to allow the story to soak in, so Brago and Sherry could absorb every detail he had said, to allow them to be shocked.

"Yet, it seems Miss Rita was her closest human contact because they _so_ connected! They grew close, so close; in fact, they took up the habit of calling each other sister! How… _touching_!" Lance made a gagging noise. Sherry and Brago were stunned into silence. A slimy grin appeared on Lance's square face. "Yes, hard to grasp, isn't it? Isn't it… _disgusting_?"

Lance broke out into hysterical laughter, ruffles flapping like bird's wings. Brago's eyes were wide and it almost seemed as if he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.

"A human? And a mamodo?" he growled, almost sickened. "What would be the point to such a relationship knowing that parting is inevitable? Why go through an ordeal such as that?"

Sherry straightened her posture and poured out more heart energy. "I quite agree."

Sherry couldn't begin to understand why a team would put themselves through such torture. She couldn't help but think of that one team, Li-en and Wonrei, who seemed to love each other more than words could describe. Separating from your mamodo in the first place is a painful enough experience, but one that you were intimate with and came to love? Sherry shuddered. She cared for Brago deeply but if she ever fell in love with him she couldn't imagine how she would cope with him vanishing before her… the thought of him leaving even now was hard to comprehend; he had become a part of her life. Why would she make it that much harder to part? Sherry looked at Brago from the corner of her eye and felt a pang of heart ache… she could certainly understand wanting to be closer to their mamodo partner, after all, Brago wasn't exactly social. Brago looked at her as he felt her gaze on him but she did not turn away. It was as if they had a sudden connection, a sudden shared feeling…

_Why would a team put themselves through such pain? To love and never see each other again? It would be horrible, cruel, and leave both the mamodo and human empty. _

"Ridiculous," Sherry and Brago said simultaneously as they turned back towards Lance.

"Well," Lance sighed. "Lust isn't always logical, now is it? Anyway, that filthy mixed blooded mamodo represents a union so sickening to me that just the thought of her makes me want to pour her putrid blood all over the ground! So much so, that I will burn your book quickly so I can destroy her."

A wicked smile lit up his face as he clenched and unclenched his fingers. "Power is divine!"

"_Jiusenuga_!" a loud cry called.

A beam of amazingly white light crashed into Lance's body, sending him flying into the wall. Debris flew everywhere resorting in Sherry flinging her arms over her head for protection. Brago, of course, hardly moved, but instead stared at the moaning form of Lance as he heaved himself onto one arm, glaring at something behind Sherry and Brago. Rita's dark chocolate eyes were wide and her lips trembled.

"I have to agree, power is divine," the voice said calmly though with a hint of acidity.

Brago and Sherry turned quickly to the sound of the voice, in absolute shock. Sorella stood in the patio doorway, eyes a fiery gold, blazing like fire, and her glowing white book was open in her left hand. Her right hand was outstretched towards Lance's now stirring form, the white light fading from her palm. The sunlight behind her cast her figure in an impressive aura, commanding all eyes to be fixed upon her, strength seeping from her very soul. Her mouth twisted into an eager, vindictive smile as her burning eyes fell upon Lance.

"It's a shame you have none."


	7. Chapter 7 Determination

**Chapter 7 Determination**

_Author's Note: Awwww snap! Sorella packs a punch! Don't worry; I will explain the whole, calling-her-own-spells thing, in this chapter! DON'T FREAK OUT! :D Also, it won't be in Sorella's POV for the most of this so I can direct the battle a little better as well as give Sherry and Brago insight to what's happening. Don't want ya to be confused! Please review, I would appreciate it because then I can fix up the story and patch up some holes! The whole "half breed" thing was hard to figure out because of the 1000 year time span but I hope I got it all sorted… Enjoy! _

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Zatch Bell characters, only Sorella, Rita, and Lance are mine.

"Lance," Sorella stated in a cold, bone chilling voice.

"Filthy half-breed," he murmured. "How _dare_ you attack me?! How dare you…" Lance paused, mouth falling open as if unhinged. "_You _attacked me?"

Sorella rolled her eyes, "That's generally what one calls it when they blow them into a wall…"

Lance shook his head in shock, "No, no, no!" He stuttered. "You attacked me without a Book Master! You called your own spells!"

"Oh that," Sorella smirked. "Well, seeing as I am the only half-breed to actually qualify for the battle for king, I don't know if this applies to all half-breeds, but _my_ human blood allows me to read my own spells, seeing as my mother was the mamodo and my father was her Book Master, the one who read her own spells. It's probably a fluke but…" Sorella's book flared up with white light. "It's one with benefits!"

Lance pushed himself to his feet, breaking the black cord running from his finger to Rita's temple. Instead a black ball remained at his fingertip while numerous black veins expanded over the left side of Rita's temple and down her neck. Sherry gaped, finally realizing the similarity she had noticed earlier now that Sorella was here. They had the same kind of eyes… but Brago's eyes were focused on Sorella with a mixture of loathing and acceptance in them.

"Now I can control her from a distance! Isn't that right, Rita?"

"Leave, Sorella! I don't want to fight you again!"

Sorella's eyes softened but her grimace became more pronounced. "No. I will not abandon you. I will burn his book and you will be free from this battle."

"_Teo Nerosen!" _Rita called out with tears forming in her warm eyes as Lance thrust the black cannon ball towards Sorella.

_"Amu Ramare Shizaruk!" _Sorella screamed, white light rising higher and higher from her book, exuding tremendous heart power.

Copper metal materialized near her elbows and began to twist and mold all the way down her arm in delicate, vine-like patterns, and finally crept towards her fingers, covering them completely with copper. They narrowed off of the tips of her fingers in four-inch long claws, deadly sharp and accurate. Sorella smirked because she knew that though normal copper was weak, this copper was infused with her heart energy, thus making it as hard as diamonds. She also smirked because it retained other copper properties such as malleability as well as absorbing and rebounding impacts.

Sorella thrust her clawed hand out and grabbed the black ball in mid air, a wicked grin stretching along her lips, before she threw the ball back at Lance where it struck him in the stomach, hurtling him away even farther.

Sherry's hold on her black book shook as she watched this take place, disbelief jamming her senses. Sorella could _read_ her _own_ book?! At first it seemed like a huge advantage when Sherry looked upon Sorella. After all, Sorella wouldn't need to confer with a partner, wouldn't need to coordinate movement for both of them, thus enabling Sorella a quicker reaction time as well as lenience in what she herself wanted to do. But then, the more Sherry thought about it, the more she thought it was also a huge disadvantage. The book would always be in the line of fire, she would need to take it with her as she battled, close combat would be unimaginable difficult, not to mention, risky, and she was limited to using one arm until she discovered a bag or something to hang her book from while she fought.

Sherry turned to Brago. "Brago?" she questioned, wanting his opinion.

"I am envious, but also…" he paused. "I am glad that I have a Book Master. I can move more freely while she will always be hindered by fear of her book burning."

Sherry smiled; coming from Brago that was basically a compliment. He was admitting she was an asset to battle rather than a hindrance.

"What should we do?" Sherry asked in a crisp tone.

Brago was silent for a moment, contemplating. "I want to watch."

Sherry nodded, agreeing. The fire in Sorella's eyes was truly one to behold and the way her claws gleamed in the golden sunlight streaming into the kitchen was inspiring. Her hair flared behind her in waves of brown and golden caramel and the flare of white light resonating from her book cast her face in power. Sherry couldn't help but admire her strength; mainly because she had never guessed Sorella possessed it.

"You vile wretch! I will destroy you!" Lance bellowed, launching himself at Sorella.

She leapt and twirled in the air gracefully, lashing out her claws to rake them from his elbow to his shoulder. Blood streamed from the wound and the luxurious fabric ripped and frayed. Sorella landed nimbly on her feet, flexing her fingers. Lance's shaking hand examined the wound, violet eyes wide.

In his most pompous voice he shrieked, "How DARE you destroy my coat?!"

Sorella quirked an eyebrow upward as she asked, "Are you serious?"

"Why didn't you just attack anywhere else?! WHY MY COAT?!" He even stamped a foot upon the ground, hands balling into fists.

_Is he having a tantrum?_ Sorella thought in annoyance, eye twitching. She darted forward with light footed agility, pulling an arm back so she could tear the claws across Lance's easily targetable face, seeing as it was so wide. But Lance's eyes widened and dilated in anger, his purple book glowing brighter than Sorella's.

_"Rioru Viteuga!"_ Rita cried, knowing the spell, hating the way her mouth formed the words and called them out, and knowing that the tears she tried to hold in for Sorella's sake were spilling over and gliding down her pale, malnourished face.

Sorella froze and tried to leap away as black vines erupted from Lance's outstretched fingers, wrapping around her as they united into one cohesive wrap around her body, trapping her arms and book to her sides. Sorella grit her teeth as Lance swung her down, striking her head against the marble floor.

Rita screamed as Sorella gasped out in pain, hissing as Lance threw her away from him, cords acting like a whip. Somehow, Sorella managed to keep a hold on the book, but knew that with that one attack she was severely weakened. Her vision was already blurry and the blood spilling down her face was not helping matters. Sorella felt disoriented and feared she wouldn't be able to stand up. The blood pooled beneath her head on the floor, moistening her hair.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Rita sobbed, despair pouring down her face.

"You dirty blooded insect," Lance droned, apparently calmer after causing Sorella major injury. "Did you think you stood a chance against me when you barely know how to use your powers? Unthinkable. You are weak."

Sorella's now clawless fist clenched as she pushed herself off of the floor, panting, blood steadily pouring from her wound. Her limbs shook as she felt the fatigue from her head injury fall upon her. But Rita's choking sobs lifted her up. Rita's tears acted like medicine, making Sorella forget about her injury in her will power to release her from the forced bondage she was subjected to. But Sorella struggled to rise to her feet, struggled to gather more heart energy to call another spell, and she struggled to remain conscious.

_You're weak_, a voice seemed to call to her. It was dark and raspy, no doubt Brago's voice.

"No," Sorella gasped, clenching her teeth, pushing herself up.

_You're weak!_ He growled, fiercer.

"No!" Sorella said, this time with more of an exclamation. Her book started to glow.

_You are useless. _Sorella looked towards Brago who stood with Sherry a few feet from where Sorella lay, struggling to rise to her feet. She bared her teeth in a snarl and mouthed, "Shield your eyes," to him from behind a curtain of hair. Brago nodded to Sherry and both of them gently closed their eyes. Sorella was momentarily stunned that the both of them had complied so quickly and without hesitation. Then she rose shakily to her feet, flinging open her brightly luminescent book with a snap.

"_Inaridire Jiusen!"_ Sorella screamed; white light blasted from her entire body and filled the spacious room with momentary white blindness.

Regret lanced through Sorella, knowing that Rita would be affected for a moment as well, but it was necessary to free her. Lance screamed as he stumbled around like a maniac, eyes shut tight, and his hands waved in front of him ridiculously like a windmill. Sherry and Brago had opened their eyes and were walking slowly over to her.

"What did you DO?!" Lance screamed shrilly.

Rita's eyes were closed gently and a small smile lit her features, sensing the end of her enslavement. Sorella wandered over to her, a smile of her own growing as she looked upon the young girl's features... so, they will now have time to really talk, and not just through an enchanted mirror…

"You are blinded for a small period of time, during which, I will burn your book."

Lance growled, "HUMAN! MY SPELL!"

Rita gasped as the book glowed, and Sorella froze. "Why are you calling a spell? You can't possibly attack in your condition."

"HUMAN!"

Rita's eyes shot open and though they couldn't see, bore right into Sorella's heart. Fear and panic were in them as well as a warning.

"RUN AWAY!" Rita screamed bloodcurdlingly before shouting her spell. "_Dioga Viagioia!" _

Lance lunged forward, eyes closed, mouth distorted into a hideous scowl, and his thick hand glowed with a thick black light. Sherry darted forward, ready to intervene, but his hand was already clamped upon Sorella's forehead, drawn to it as if by a magnetic force. Sorella was forced down onto the ground, pinned with Lance's heavy hand pinning her down by the head. Sorella's hand, the one not holding the book, scrabbled at his arm, clawing frantically. Sorella screamed with pain while Lance laughed psychotically, deep voice ringing through the room.

"How do you like this spell, half-breed? It's my specialty! Are you reliving the pain of past injuries? Remembering the feeling of a sharp object against your soft flesh? Or perhaps a bad fall when you were little that split your knees open? Or maybe you broke a leg? Or is it the recent wound to your head?! BWA HA HA!" Lance cackled, eyes still rolling in blindness. "I can only wish that I could see your face but your screams of agony are making up for it!"

Sorella couldn't think, couldn't speak! Her clutch on the book was fading; her mind was swirling with the memories of past experiences of pain, her body cried out in agony as they felt the pricks and wounds again, though they did not actually appear on her body, it was only in her mind! Her mind attempted to snuff out her screams, to drown out her apparent suffering, but the pain was over riding her coherent thought! Her back arched as fiery pain lanced across her body again and again... She was slipping, falling under…

_"Ion Gravirei!"_ a female voice shrieked and a blast of power launched from Brago's hand, sending Lance spiraling away from Sorella, his body smacking the ground multiple times and causing the stone floor to chip and crack.

"Sorella!" Sherry called to her.

Sorella's mouth was still open in a scream though no sound came out. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, and she seemed to be holding in a breath. Sherry punched Sorella's stomach hard and a gush of air came out of Sorella's mouth in a gasp, followed by more gulps of air being swallowed. Her eyes fluttered multiple times and she trembled from head to foot.

"Sorella!" Sherry barked again, this time more bossy like.

"Sherry!" Sorella gasped, hand flashing out to clutch the fabric on Sherry's front. "Thank you!"

Sherry smiled warmly at her and then rose from where she kneeled beside her, opening Brago's book again. Lance was struggling to his feet and it seemed his sight had returned. He had multiple wounds on his body and he was shaking. Brago's strong spell left him in a horrible state. He rushed forward, around Sherry and Brago, and scooped small Rita into one arm. His face cringed at the contact.

"Damn you!" he cursed. "You'll regret this!"

And then he was gone before Brago and Sherry could even react. Brago growled low in his throat, hating this Lance mamodo even more. How many times had this abomination gotten away from him in plain sight? One too many… Brago scoffed in irritation, then heard a noise from behind him, and turned to see Sorella forcing herself up onto two feet.

"Where are you going?" he asked in his characteristic snarl.

Sherry walked over to Sorella and tried to grasp her shoulders in an attempt to stop her moving, but Sorella shook her off.

"I… I won't… I won't let him win!" she cried out, still violently shaking from the pain she had experienced. "He can't… he can't keep her like that!"

Brago was becoming agitated. "You're not strong enough right now. You can't do it."

Sorella shook her head frantically, shedding drops upon drops of blood onto the floor like scarlet colored rain.

"I saw her face! Rita… Rita thought… thought I had won! She was relieved! I can't leave… I can't leave her in that disappointed despair! I have to help her! I have to, I HAVE TO!" Sorella's voice rose to a hysterical level.

"Sorella," Sherry tried to reason. "You're injured. You need to heal first and become strong again before fighting that mamodo."

"I won't… won't… leave her… alone…" Sorella stated again but as she made her way to the patio door, she fell on her knees and collapsed.

Sherry rushed forward and tried to lift her, but because of Sherry using so much heart energy in that last attack, she was left weak bodied. Great, just when she needed it the most! Brago scoffed and strode over, scooping Sorella into his arms as easily as if she weighed nothing more than a feather.

"I'll get her," he growled, turning to walk down the hall.

Sherry hurried after him, startled. "You're helping her now? You said she was weak and wouldn't contribute anything?"

Brago was silent for a long moment and Sherry thought he wouldn't say anything. But he surprised her yet again because after a disgruntled sound he answered her.

"She may be of some use after all."


	8. Chapter 8 Reformation

**Chapter 8 Reformation**

_**Author's note**__: I hoped you liked that last fight! I love writing battle scenes, they're a lot of fun to do because I can make the characters do all these neat Jackie Chan moves and stuff! So cool! Tee hee, anyway, I hope you like the story so far, it's a lot of fun for me to write, so I hope it's fun to read! Please review, I really, REALLY, REALLY like reviews! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE???? (Looks up with super large puppy dog eyes…) _

_Brago: Why do you care what they think anyway? _

_Me: (gasp) Brago?!_

_Brago: How can I be anyone else? _

_Me: Like this! (Whips out Harry Potter wand and casts a transfiguration spell, turning Brago into a black cat) Ta dah! _

_Brago the cat: HIISSSSSS!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell, or Harry Potter, just a Hermione Granger wand replica and a whole bunch of Harry Potter collectibles (yeah, be jealous!:D). I did create Sorella, Lance, and Rita though, please do not take them!**

***

I lay in the soft, warm bed Brago had put me in. Apparently, this was my room now; Sherry had given it to me especially. The thought would have made me happy earlier, but now, after such a horrible defeat and losing Rita a second time, my scowl remained. I brooded, not really in the mood to move or do anything of importance. I simply lay there with the covers draping my body in thick sheets, my hair splayed out beneath my head and across my pillow, and not moving as my body throbbed healed.

Such a horrible feeling…

Useless… I am useless… I couldn't help Rita, I couldn't help _myself_, I even had to be carried by Brago, one who deemed me weak from the start, a claim I had always denied. _Now_ how could I say any different? The evidence was as openly visible as the red soaked white bandage wrapped around my head and in the trembling soreness of my muscles.

"I am weak…" I sighed.

The room was dark, matching my mood perfectly, the curtains drawn tightly closed over the large window so I could rest. Tch, as if I could rest with these thoughts in my head… I sighed again and continued to stare moodily up at the ceiling, hating the pale yellow color I saw. Yellow is supposed to mean happy. Instead it just reminds me of egg yolks… I HATE egg yolks… they're dry and taste bad…

Rita's face popped in front of me, short mousy brown hair framing a round, smiling face. Her chocolate brown eyes look at me with glee, glad to be able to talk again, even if it is long distance. I shut my eyes, trying to will myself not to remember but the memory came regardless…

***

_"Sister?" Rita asked me tentatively; as if she was unsure she would be allowed to call me that. "How are you?"_

_My heart skips happily at this term and a large smile stretches upon my face. Sister… I loved the sound of it coming from her round mouth. I tucked a long strand of hair behind one ear, and looked down into the mirror. I am stretched out on my stomach in a field of green, green grass, the enchanted mirror implanted into the ground. This small area is reserved for these chats between half-breeds and their human correspondents. It's a warm and happy place, the perfect scenery for these pleasant transactions between Rita and me. _

_"I know I am fine, what I want to know is how you are!" I laughed. _

_Rita raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Is that guy still picking on you? Yoven?" _

_I smirked. "No, not today! I got something he wanted!" _

_Rita perked up, curiosity overwhelming her. "Oooooh, what?!" _

_I laughed, "I was chosen to be one of the 100 demon children to go to earth and fight to become King of the demon world! I told you about it, remember, and how it was coming up in the next few months?" _

_I said this in one breath, eager to get it out. I had been dying to tell her this news ever since I learned about it and had been counting down the days to the 6 month period so I could tell her this news. Rita's eyes swelled up to the size of platters and her little hands came in front of her as she clutched them together. _

_"Oh my gosh, really?! You're coming to earth?! I can meet you face to face?!"  
_

_My heart soared at seeing the excited expression upon her face. She was so pleased that she would be able to see me in the flesh that she didn't even notice my joy threatening to break through. _

_"Yeah, each mamodo is given a spell book and then they find a human partner to read their spell books so they can battle each other. I hope…" I hesitated, wondering what was going through her head. I avoided her gaze in the mirror, nervous to see what emotions would be on display in her deep eyes. _

_"Oh wow! Sorella, Sorella! What if I was your partner? What if I could read your spells? Oh, you have to come visit me right away so we could see! Even if I can't read your book, you could have dinner with us and spend the night, paint our nails like sisters are supposed to do in all those movies I've watched, we could eat chocolate until we puked, and play monopoly!" _

_I tried to contain the happiness threatening to spill over in the form of tears as I listened t her excited chatter. For the first time, someone other than my mother wanted me beside them, wanted to share memories, wanted me there despite my differences… I giggled shakily, not even knowing what half of these things were that Rita spoke of. Sure, she explained what chocolate was, that was immediate, but everything else sounded foreign. _

"_Monopoly? What's that?"_

_Rita's eyes became even larger in a look of incredulity. "Oh, wow, I forgot you don't know about Monopoly! Sorry, don't mean to be rude, it's just almost everyone in the whole human world knows about Monopoly! Sorry, I know you don't know, seeing as you live there and… and well, anyway, Monopoly is…"_

_And off Rita was in outrageous explanations about colorful squares on cardboard with metal mini statues to represent a player, rules and regulations, money and purpose. She went on and on, and I was perfectly happy with just watching her excited, young face talk to me like I was the most important person in her life… _

***

I fought a scream as I clutched my head between my hands, sitting up, back curved as my head slumped upon my raised knees. Too much… too much!

Suddenly the floor had a long rectangle of orange hallway light as the door to my room opened. A shadow of a figure in a large dress appeared and this person walked into the room and flicked on the lights. I winced away from it as if I had suddenly turned nocturnal. Sherry was eyeing me with a look of both speculation and pity. Worry could be thrown in there somewhere too, but I wasn't really paying attention to her, nor much else besides the raging thoughts in my head and how they pounded against me like hammers to fragile bones.

"Sorella?" Sherry asked me, coming over by me with long, powerful strides of her long legs.

"Well? Is she up yet?" a voice growled. Brago was entering the room, eyes a murderous glare as he looked upon my tortured expression, no doubt disappointed in my weakness again.

Why doesn't he try having these horrible memories in his head all the time like headaches? I bet he wouldn't be doing so hot _then_… I vaguely wondered why they were here, what was their purpose. I also didn't understand why they were going to all the trouble to help me out, especially after learning what I was. I wasn't used to anyone caring about what happened to me besides my mother… and Rita. Pain lanced through my heart again and I curled more upon myself, desiring nothing more than to be free from my own body and thoughts.

Sherry placed a warm hand on my shoulder and I flinched away from it, not used to her warm touch. All my body remembered of touch right now was numerous wounds of pain. She was persistent though and kept it there, sitting beside me on the bed, attempting to get me to look at her. She must have been mad when I wouldn't because she let out an angry sigh.

"Sorella, you've been in this room, unconscious, for three days. The least you could do is talk to us." Brago made a disapproving sound. "Okay, talk to _me_."

I was silent.

"Eat something."

Still nothing.

"At least get up!"

I didn't move.

Sherry let out an exasperated noise, tossing her hands above her head. She rose from the bed and her hands went to her hips. I glanced at her for a moment, wondering about her expression. It was somewhat scary. Her eyes were glaring magnificently and her yellow eyebrows were in sharp angles, indicating extreme rage. Her mouth was downturned into a scowl and her breathing was shallow, as if it was taking all the self restraint in her body not to yell.

"Well. Be that way. But like it or not, you _will_ get out of that bed. You_ will_ eat something. You _will_ do training. You _will _get stronger. And you _will_ burn that bastard's book to save that poor girl. You don't have to talk, but I won't allow you to wallow in your foolish self pity any longer!"

Sherry hurried over to the curtains and flung them open, bright, eye squinting sunlight streaming into the room in golden rays. She turned toward the door, but not before grabbing my white spell book. My chin raised an infinitesimal amount but I made no move to retrieve it. If she had wanted to burn it, she would have when I was unconscious. This was just a ploy to get me out of bed and actually doing something. Well, I will not be manipulated again; I was going to stay in this bed despite what she wanted me to do. Sherry's scowl deepened into a grimace of displeasure as she tapped my white book against her thigh.

"Well! That didn't work, but all the same, this is going with me so you won't take off on some suicidal mission of self destruction! I am going to get you something to eat, my guess is going to be soup because…"

"I am half human," I whispered, almost just a breath of air. I must seem so strange to her compared to Brago…

"No, because soup is supposed to be good for anyone when they're sick."

"I am not sick," I droned emotionlessly. That much I knew. I was just achy, and tired, and angry, and full of self loathing. Not much to worry about. That was sarcasm.

"Your heart is!" Sherry snapped and I actually looked up in surprise, but she was already storming out the door and down the hallway.

I waited until her footsteps were gone before looking down upon the tan bed sheets, hands were in my lap, and I let out a small sigh. I knew Brago was still in the room, probably assigned to guard duty by Sherry. I desperately wanted to say something to him because I knew he was staring at me from where he leaned against the wall across from me. The words just wouldn't come out so I decided to not even bother.

"How long are you going to remain like that?" he growled.

I did nothing but bow my head, long hair swinging in front of me like a shield between us. I was grateful for that because I didn't want him to see my eyes tighten.

"Like what?" I asked in a dead monotone.

"Weak. Useless. It's extremely annoying."

Weak. Useless. Again, confirming what I already knew. "I don't see why it bothers you now. It's how I was before, what's the difference?"

Brago almost hissed in annoyance. "You're being foolish and allowing self pity to disrupt your goals. Do you still intend to save that girl? Do you still want to burn that purple book? If so, you need to get up and cease this self wallowing, it's disgusting."

My fists clenched in my lap as I stared up at him from under my hair. "How can I accomplish any of those goals? How can I possibly defeat Lance considering how easily _I_ was defeated?"

"You get stronger."

My head snapped up and my eyes widened in anger, pupils dilating in fury at his short answer and clipped tone. His expression was that of someone saying, "Yeah? What do you want?"

My teeth were bared as I snapped at him with a hint of a snarl, "You make it sound like it's so easy! Like I can simply get up and learn five new spells! Well that won't make any difference! Did you not see what happened?! Did you not see how easily one spell broke me down? And it wasn't even an attack! It was all in my head! If I can't trust myself to not be manipulated how can I trust my own abilities?!"

Brago shoved away from the wall and strode over to me, growling, and with a posture indicating he wanted nothing more than to punch me in the face. Before now, I would have edged away from him but instead I leaned towards him, almost desiring to be screamed at.

"That's the whole point!" he yelled. "That's what becoming strong is, by working hard and gaining power through sweat! Do you think power comes easily? Of course not, what a childish notion!"

I clutched my hair in my hands as they went to my head, trying to block his voice in my anger because they lit up a dim light of acknowledgment, like I comprehended what he was saying.

"You think it will be easy to save that girl? Of course not, just as it is not easy to become king! That's why we mamodos strive to the next level, despite the obstacles! To overcome things blocking our path, whether it's an opponent or our own weakness, is to be strong!"

"Shut up!" I hissed.

"I'm sick of looking at your weak form! Regain what you had when you first battled that mamodo and destroy him! Defeat his strength with your own! Get stronger!"

"I CAN'T!" I screamed as I faced him again, tears spilling over. "My own mind is the enemy! You don't know… YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT… what…" my nails dug into my scalp. "It was unbearable! I knew it was all in my head but I couldn't break free! I couldn't force myself out of that trance! If you hadn't attacked him when you did I would have become insane! I was slipping and nothing I did forced myself out of it, not even thoughts of Rita! How can I defeat the enemy if it is my own head?!"

My body trembled viciously as a wave of sickness passed through me. I forced the bile down my throat and pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes, tears still streaming down my cheeks. Weak, weak, WEAK!

"You ask for assistance!" Brago snarled angrily.

I gasped and looked up at him with a tear stained face. His read eyes were missing from the whites of his eyes, indicating the high level of anger he was in. His arms were stiff at his sides and his fists were shaking as if he were holding back from hitting me. Brago's mouth was bared like a wolf snarls at an enemy, sharp teeth glinting in the light. He snarled once more before turning away from me, as if ashamed about what he had said. I continued to stare at him in utmost shock, surprised he had actually said something of comfort, despite the harsh and brutal way it was said.

I could feel warmth spreading through me slowly, as if it was healing the tremulous paranoia in my bones. My head felt cleared; like I was plugged up and suddenly the pressure had dissipated. My trembling fingers went to my mouth as I pushed my fingertips to them, trying to hold back a relieved sob. Minutes ticked by and slowly my racing heart began to calm down and beat slow and steady. My tears dried and my eyes narrowed as I pictured Rita's face in my mind, eyes pleading both for me to come to her and to flee. Determination once again filled within me and pushed me forward.

My fists shook as I clenched them so tightly that my nails threatened to puncture my soft skin. I would get stronger, work from this moment forth to do all that I could to free her, to change what I was lacking in before… and… I shuddered momentarily upon remembering Lance's horrid spell… if I was trapped within myself I would have help. Footsteps sounded in the hall as I looked up at Brago's back. Sherry entered the room with a bed tray holding a bowl of steaming chicken soup, minus the noodles, as well as two book bags dangling from each shoulder, Brago's and mine within them.

"I wasn't sure if your mamodo blood hated noodles and vegetables so I just stuck with a rich chicken broth with tender pieces of chicken in it so…" Sherry paused as she looked upon my expression.

I was without a doubt smiley gently, a soft expression within my eyes. I was also, without a doubt, suddenly turning from looking upon Brago as Sherry entered the room, but not quickly enough. She had seen me. I looked up at her and smiled an apology for my earlier depression. Sherry smirked and laid the tray across my lap, thrusting a spoon at me. Her blonde, yellow hair fell into her blue eyes, eyes that conveyed a relief for my healed attitude.

"Thank you," I said quietly as I fondled the spoon, gazing down at the golden yellow liquid.

This was a nice kind of yellow food, it was warm and healing. Tears spilled from my eyes again as I ladled some of the soup into my mouth, savoring the taste and the warmth I felt as the liquid ran down my throat and into my stomach. Sherry sat in a chair and smiled at me warmly before smirking towards Brago who ignored her determinedly. He continued to glare out the window but it seemed there was a faint, victorious smirk on his lips, as if he were silently congratulating his ego. I looked at him again and looked at Sherry to try and make it seem like I wasn't just looking at Brago. Tears fell in large streams, dripping from my chin and sliding down my neck, leaving salty, wet trails behind.

"Thank you!" I sobbed between mouthfuls. "Thank you, thank you… thank you…"


	9. Chapter 9 Going into Town

**Chapter 9 Going into Town **

_**Author's Note**__: I am so super happy right now! Even though I don't have lots of reviews, the ones I do have are super nice and make me smile! It makes me glad to know that people like what I write and they enjoy themselves! That's the whole reason I write, after all! _

_Also, I apologize if anyone was confused for a moment, I am not sure if I fixed it quickly enough or if anyone noticed, but upon editing Chapter one and meaning to replace it I deleted it entirely, therefore making chapter 2, chapter 1, and chapter 3, chapter 2, so I had to delete everything and reload it again in order. Again, I don't know if anyone noticed or was confused, but if you did and were, sorry, and it is all better now! YAY! I nearly had a panic attack there; I was so worried I screwed everything up! Whew! Fixed though! _

_Anyway, enough of my incoherent babbling, here's the chapter! _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell… wow, one would think that after stating this in the previous chapters that I don't own Zatch Bell… anyway, it's not mine nor are the characters… the characters Sorella, Lance, and Rita, though, are of my own creation. Don't snatch 'em, please! :D **

Since my head and body were in no condition to train yet, Sherry decided, rather, ordered, that we relax for two days and see what state I was in by then. Brago had claimed that whether I was fine or not, we would be leaving to look for more mamodo.

"How do you expect her to heal when trekking up mountains and forest paths and such?" Sherry had demanded of him.

Brago looked at her as if the answer was obvious. "Slowly."

I had stifled a laugh with a fist in the mouth at that, not wanting Sherry to round on me in frustration. Things were a lot less tremulous now, especially after that Lance fight. We got to see a little of the truth in everyone that day, a little of who they really are. I saw Sherry's nurturing fierceness, almost motherly, and Brago's… well… he's actually… I pondered a moment, considering what I actually learned about Brago…

"Short tempered…" I whispered out loud to myself. "Growly… cheats… strong…"

Sherry and Brago eyed me with confusion but I continued to quietly mumble things about what I had learned, almost in an obsessive scholarly way. Sherry sighed and scratched her head, ruffling her long blonde hair.

"I want to do something; I hate not being able to do something…"

"How is that different than what you do normally?" Brago asked.

I laughed really hard when Sherry's face reddened in anger and her lip jutted out in a scowl kind of pout. The funny part was Brago was not trying to be funny. Both of them looked in my direction so I quickly turned my back and hurried into the bathroom, stifling my giggles with my fist. Really, Sherry must get that a lot, despite the hard work she puts in. I giggled more as I closed the door behind me and slid down to the floor against it, rolling with silent mirth. Once I had calmed down, I sighed happily.

Despite what had happened recently, I felt more comfortable than I had in a long, long time, especially around a mamodo, particularly a full blooded mamodo. I looked down at the floor, thinking. Most mamodos didn't know about us, seeing as the half breeds and close family members live in their own little town away from everyone else. It wasn't the most high end place, or the best built, but we knew everyone there.

I leaned my head back remembering. The lingering smell of meat on a blistering hot flat stone, the crisp fruit plucked from the nearby tree, and the laughter of those around me, happy to be a part of something where no one was looked down upon. There were a few rude people there, hating what they were and how they had to live, but even they smiled from time to time. My throat tightened, thinking about when I was given my book. How everyone had looked at me…

***

_"You're going to be in the battle for king?" Yoven asked with incredulity. _

_The other half breed children huddled around me, some eyes wide with admiration, while others glared with envy and loathing. My mother was standing off a ways, watching me with glowing pride and love. This was a great day! I would be able to go to the human world and see Rita! She might even be my Book Master! _

_"How can you be chosen? Why is there only one picked out of all of us?" Yoven demanded angrily. _

_His frayed hair was poking in all directions, gleaming silver in the sunlight. His yellow eyes had slits for the pupils like a cat and he had two sharp teeth on the top and bottom rows. His skin was an odd color, one almost like a mix between yellow and grey. Yes, he was very feline, more demonic looking than me at least. He constantly teased me how I shouldn't even be in this slum village because of how human I looked; how someone as humanoid as me doesn't deserve to live in the mamodo world. _

_I looked at him straight in the face and said with a tone like a whip, "Because __**you **__are not strong, that's why."_

_The other kids howled with mocking laughter as Yoven flushed a crimson red and clenched his fists. He pushed my shoulder, causing me to stumble away from everyone else. _

_"You think you're so much better than the rest of us!" He yelled, silencing the others, even the adults watching nearby. "You're not demon enough to live in the main city, and you are too human to live here! You may have all this power and stuff, but that's only because your fool of a mother was strong in the last battle!" _

_I flinched away, hating his words, clutching my white book closer to my chest as if it were a baby. _

_"You may get all this special treatment because of how you look or what you can do, but the actuality is that you're a freak! Everyone here is reminded about their human family, the demons are reminded that you're obviously half human, and hate it! No one likes you!"_

_I took in a sharp breath, looking around immediately to confirm what he said. The others were avoiding my gaze, seeming embarrassed. My heart pounded loudly against my chest and my stomach bubbled with a feeling similar to throwing up. My mother was hurrying towards me, concern on her pretty face. I looked a little like her, though she had an angularness to her face that was too sharp for a human, and her eyes were large with an almost crystal like red-gold color. Her nails were too sharp and didn't need to be filed and her legs were long and athletic. _

_Yoven was on a rant now, hating that he wasn't chosen, he, out of all the half breed children here, who looked most like a mamodo compared to me, the one who looked most human. Fear gripped me like icy claws as he prepared to shout at me again… _

_"No one will accept you! If you meet any mamodo in the human world they will only want to burn your book faster once they find out what you are! And if you somehow make friends, then the minute they find out they will be disgusted with you! You're a FREAK, even among your own kind!" _

***

_"You're a FREAK, even among your own kind!"_

I sighed. I could still hear that voice in my head, that same statement… I rose to my feet and walked before the glossy mirror, studying myself. My mouth was downturned into a critical frown, about average in size, and my nose was small but not puny like that Zatch kid's nose… I saw him once after some kids had teased him and gave him a coin I had found that day so he could buy a piece of candy. He probably doesn't even remember me…

My hair was long now, almost to my waist, a dark brown with caramel streaks that blended nicely and gave my hair a more natural look… well, that doesn't really make sense seeing as this is the natural hair I was born with… it was glossy and shiny and gleamed in sunlight, making it seem golden at times from the caramel color in it. My mother would always brush it on sunny days and admire it, often saying that the shorter lengths sweeping across my face to my ear and chin should be grown out or cut into actual bangs but I had refused. I had long, black eyelashes framing my golden brown eyes. In the artificial light of the bathroom they seemed almost _amber_! I couldn't help but imagine how much brighter they must look to everyone else when in the actual sunlight.

A face too human to be demon, a face too demon to be human, that was what I had. I felt a twinge of uneasiness as I listened to Brago and Sherry talking in the other room. More like Sherry talking seeing as Brago wasn't really saying anything. I had seen their surprised expressions before intervening with Lance with my spell. Sherry had a look of disbelief and Brago's was almost one of disgust…

Was I disgusting? Lance seemed to think so and I don't even remember him from the mamodo world… a brief recognition flared in my head, a faint, dim memory, but I couldn't quite place where I had seen him before. How annoying.

"Sorella?" Sherry's voice called to me through the bathroom door. "Are you almost done? We're going into town."

I cast one last glance at my worried reflection before putting on an excited one as I rushed to the door. Sherry's face was dubious as she saw my overly happy expression, no doubt wondering what was going through my mind, but she didn't say anything.

"Why are we going into town?" I asked.

I looked over to Brago who was leaning against the wall, practically with dark clouds of anger rolling above him. His mouth was a snarl and his eyes were missing the red in them.

"What's his problem?" I asked, jerking a thumb in his direction.

Sherry waved a hand, as if disregarding Brago entirely. "He's mad we're going into town. I want to buy a few more things I think I need, mainly a book bag for you for your book, and a new set of shoes for me. Ones that hike better, that's for sure."

I gaped at the reason, both pleased and awkward that she was buying me something to actually help me, more importantly, help me win battles against other mamodos. Sherry knew I had no money, how on earth would I get it, and she was still willing to help me? My heart warmed a bit at this and my cheeks flushed light pink. Sherry looped an arm through mine in a gesture I was not used to and smiled at me.

"It will be like a girls' day," she explained. "We can eat, I can find out what food you like seeing as you're half human, we can shop for something, that will be fun since neither of us have really shopped before, I never really did with Koko, and just enjoy ourselves until you heal up."

Brago scoffed and Sherry glared at him. My mouth was still hanging open idiotically so I forced it shut with a slight click of my white teeth. How was I supposed to know what to do? I wasn't human… I guess I would just wing it and hope for the best!

"Are we going in those monster car things?" I asked apprehensively.

Sherry looked at me with bright eyes. "No, not if you don't want to. The town isn't too far off."

I sighed, visibly relieved. I couldn't care less what they thought, those thing were horrible. Sherry waved to Brago who scowled angrily in response as we walked out the door to the room and down the hall, chatting conversationally until we reached the main door leading outside. Jii was there with a horse driven carriage. The horses were magnificently black and white, tossing their silky manes back with a graceful flick of their heads. Their hooves stamped the ground nervously, whinnying in their eagerness to trot.

I let out a breath and rushed over to the horses to stroke their gracefully arched necks. They leaned towards me as I pet them, enjoying the contact. I turned to Sherry with a smile.

"Sherry! These are horses! They're so friendly!" I laughed as one nudged the side of my head with its nose.

Jii laughed jovially, "Yes, these are the pride horses of the Belmond estate!" He patted the shoulder of the black horse. "This one hear is Tristan, and the other is Guinevere!"

"They are absolute doves!" I gushed as I nuzzled my face with Guinevere's nose.

Sherry started to climb into the carriage so I gave the two horses one last pat before climbing up beside her, resting my white spell book next to me on the soft velvet seat. Jii sat in front with the reigns and started the horses to move, pulling us along with them.

"Brago tried to eat them once, remember Jii?" Sherry laughed.

My mouth fell open. "He tried to EAT them?!" How on earth could he try to eat these magnificent creatures? It made no sense to me whatsoever.

Sherry nodded with grim humor. "Yes, Jii nearly had a heart attack. I mean, Brago is scary enough on his own, but to come in the dark stables at four in the morning to see him crouching on the wall, ready to pounce is just terrifying!"

A sudden picture popped into my head, in which gleaming red eyes pierced through me behind the shadows. I shuddered. Yes, I would have to agree with Sherry there. I turned around to see how far we had gone from the mansion only to be surprised that it was no longer in sight.

"Wow, they are fast aren't they?" I said to myself. Flipping round to face the front again, I asked Sherry, "Why didn't Brago come today anyway? What if there's a mamodo in town?"

Sherry shrugged. "He hates going into town because everyone stares at him. He finds town annoying, boring, and absolutely pointless."

I could see that. It made me squirm a little in my seat, because I knew exactly how being stared at because you were different felt like. It sucked. The horses slowed down a little as the rolling green hills began to flatten and building came into sight up ahead. I rose a little from my seat in my eagerness to see the town, I was curious as to what kind of place it would be. The buildings came into view as we came through the town's entrance and they were mostly houses and yards at first. There were many little children playing ball while their mothers watched from a distance, smiling and laughing. There were clotheslines hanging up with multiple laundry items drying in the light breeze, fluttering happily.

I turned to Sherry with wide eyes as we came into the center of town where all the shops were. Large window displays held fancy figurines with luxurious clothes and flamboyant hats, jewelry flashed in the light like multicolored dewdrops, and there was a flow of people along the sidewalk, happily chatting with their friends beside them. Jii stopped the carriage next to a fancy clothing shop with a sign that read, "Florence's Flare" in twirly letters and bright colors.

I hopped down in a buoyant fashion, eager to rush into the store and touch everything that looked interesting. Sherry got down as well, smiling as she took in my wide eyes and trembling hands.

"Shall I return here to pick you up Miss Sherry?" Jii asked her in his rumbling, dignified voice.

"Yes, at about nine thirty, ten o'clock, we should be late."

"Yes, of course, it is only around one in the afternoon. You two enjoy yourselves!" Jii exclaimed as he flicked the reins gently, guiding the glossy horses away.

I was bouncing on my toes, waiting for Sherry to stop waving in his direction. This made no sense to me, seeing as he couldn't see her with his back towards us. It must be a human gesture… this thought caused me to lift my hand and wave it wildly in the air, nearly smacking three people in the process. Sherry turned and rushed forward to grab my wrist to cease its sporadic waving.

"Come on, Sorella, let's go in!" Sherry laughed.

I noticed how much different she was right now, not nearly as serious as she was when concentrating on the battle for mamodo king. She was more natural and sincere, happy. My eyes softened as I realized she felt this way when I was with her, meaning she enjoyed my company.

"Yes!" I crowed, hopping on the tips of my feet. "I'm super excited!"

We walked into the store and were immediately bombarded by people. One was shoving trays of chocolates under our faces while spouting some statistics about chocolate making a woman seem younger, another was demonstrating a sapphire necklace while emphasizing its sparkle, and the third was a woman shooing them away.

"Sherry!" the woman cried.

"Florence!"

Florence had short grey hair styled edgily around her aged face, though it was a nicely aged face, not an old spinster's kind of face, and her eyes were hazel. Sherry rushed towards the woman to embrace her in a warm hug while the man with the chocolate tray kept badgering me. I seriously considered knocking his block off but I had a feeling that this guy was that woman's manservant, and that woman was Sherry's friend, so I didn't want to upset Sherry by upsetting her woman friend. Instead, I glared at him fiercely to try and intimidate him, to try and make him leave, but instead he blushed and rambled on even more, enthusiasm increasing.

"Sherry…" I called, eye twitching.

Sherry turned with a curious look and then came over to me, grabbing me by the hand, pulling me with her. The man followed but when I turned around and snarled at him, he blanched and edged away, frightened. Geez, what an annoying guy!

"Well, I see she is unaccustomed to men's affection!" Florence giggled.

I looked at her questionably, not understanding. Sherry, thankfully, swooped in to help me out.

"She's not from around her, Flo. Sorella isn't used to all of this."

A creepy, wide grin stretched across the woman's mouth and a mischievous gleam entered her eyes. Flo's breathing escalated and she moved closer to Sherry and me, peering at me. I edged back, a little frightened.

"You mean… she's never done anything like this before? The rural type?"

Sherry sighed, as if knowing what the woman was thinking. "Yes…"

Flo squealed and grasped my hands in a firm grip. I flinched away from her as her face was suddenly into mine, studying my face eagerly. I tried to tug my hands away from her but they were outrageously strong.

"Oh no, my dear! You can't leave yet! We must do you up!" Flow exclaimed pulling me with her.

I swung my head to look at Sherry reproachfully, not understanding why she wasn't coming to my rescue.

"Sherry!" I called out in worry.

"Sorry, Sorella!" Sherry laughed. "Once Flo starts, you can't stop her."

Flo pushed me onto a small stool with mirrors surrounding the front of it, bouncing around me to study me from all angles. She especially stared at my face the most.

"Oh! This is going to be so much fun! I have never seen eyes like these before! They are marvelous, oh what fun! Yes, nice figure, not too tall, muscular but still delicate, hair, stunning! OH YES! FUN, FUN, FUN! I think something simple… yes, not too dark, but not too bright, we must consider those eyes after all… yes…" and off she went into the back room, coming out two seconds later with arms full of bundles of clothes and fabric.

I was beginning to fear for my life.

Flo pulled out a measuring tape and began to measure along the lengths of my limbs and waist and chest and I felt like I was some sort of game to her. What on earth was she doing?! I tried to leave but she rapped me hard with a stick she pulled out randomly from the mound of fabric at my feet. I winced and remained stock still as her determined and suddenly strict eyes bored into mine.

"I will make you an outfit whether you like it or not! I have not had such a prospect since I met Sherry! Don't you dare move!"

I did not but I did tremble. I heard Sherry snicker so I tilted my head to glare at her menacingly.

"I know why Brago hates coming with you to these things!" I growled playfully. "You completely threw me to the wolves!"

Flo looked up quickly with another smile. "Oh! Is Brago here too?!"

This woman was severely creepy. Sherry shook her head and Flo pouted.

"Darn. I just made some things for him and wanted him to put them on."

I let out a bark of laughter. "Ha, as if he would let you."

Flo slowly raised her menacing gaze at me and I quailed. "What on earth makes you think that would stop me? _Let me_? Ha, I want him to wear those clothes if it's the last thing I do! It certainly was hard to guess his measurements seeing as he doesn't come here since the last time, but I think I finally got them down and I have the most wonderful thing made! It would make him look so fantastic! He was especially tricky, yes, because I had to design from a distance…"

"Flo," Sherry scolded. "Can you blame him? You practically threw yourself at him the moment he walked through the door for the first time."

Flo looked at her completely unabashed. "So what? Couldn't help myself, my mind was already whirling on what he would look good in besides that ridiculous fur cape!"

Sherry nodded, "Yes, I can understand that. That cape is so odd, we usually get stared at because of his attire. I wouldn't mind him wearing something less noticeable once in a while."

"It's such an absurd outfit, he would look fantastic in what I made for him, so much better than the bulky, black garb he normally wears!"

Feeling Brago was severely unrepresented here I took it upon myself to stick up for him.

"I happen to think his fur cape is really nice!" I snapped.

Flo and Sherry froze, peering at me with surprise.

"You seem to be awfully concerned on how to make people look better! What makes you think they need to change? Brago's outfit is just fine the way it is!"

Sherry was dumbfounded and Flo broke out in laughter as she grabbed a really pretty rich brown airy fabric, draping it around me.

"I like this one, Sherry! She's certainly different!"

***

About three hours later I was standing on the same elevated stool in the floor but wearing something completely different and not what I normally wear at all. It was a light, airy chocolate brown dress with a golden metallic lace overlapping in numerous swishy waves. It fluttered with even the smallest of movements. Flo had used my belt buckle to make an orange-brown leather high waist belt because she thought the tiger eye material was new age and matched wonderfully. Her words, not mine. She also _allowed_ me to still wear my necklace and bracelets, liking the way they matched everything. Flo had completely discarded all my previous clothes so I wouldn't be tempted to wear them when I left her shop, but she had given me a pair of tight skinned shorts to go under my dress. Sherry had intervened there, because she said I was very athletic and it wouldn't be lady like if I was to go flipping around with a dress on. I figured she said this with the battles in mind, that way I wouldn't worry about revealing anything… because I couldn't change into new clothes seeing as Flo threw them out!

My boots were included in the discard pile and were now replaced with the same orange brown leather my belt was made from only with gleaming gold buckles and glossy wooden heels. I really liked these, so this didn't upset me. My other ones were too dark and old anyway.

I fondled my hair because it was even done up too. Flo had dressed me and gotten the funniest expression on her face as her mouth rounded into an "o" shape, dashing from the room, struck by some _brilliant_ idea. She returned dragging a bewildered looking barber, a scissors still in his hands and a come in the other. She ordered him to curl the ends of my hair with her curling iron, which he did with a fearful expression, as if he would die should he refuse.

I didn't doubt this.

I felt a little weird when the employees all were staring at me with awestruck looks so I quickly hopped down to be beside Sherry. She was now dressed in a dark blue dress complimenting her eyes with a cream sash, jacket, and silk cream boots on her legs. The heels were wedged now so she wouldn't snap one, but also allowed her to have more strength in her kicks. She was writing out a check for Flo until she remembered something and her head popped up from where it was stooped over the small piece of paper.

"Flo, I need a book bag for Sorella, do you think you could…"

But Flo was off in a flash and back by the time my eyes were done blinking. I was beginning to have suspicions that she had super powers. In her hands was an orange-brown leather book bag. It had a long over the shoulder strap and the cover flopped down, secured by a single, shiny gold buckle. It matched my boots perfectly, almost as if she had planned it. I had to hand it to the woman; despite her creepiness, she knew how to coordinate things together. If I had her skills to coordinate movements, rather than clothing and accessories, I would win to become king in a matter of hours. Sherry wrote up the last figure and handed the paper strip to Flo.

"Here you go, Florence. That should cover everything."

Flo beamed at Sherry like a child beams at their mother when near an ice cream cart.

"You will visit again soon?" Flo asked with the sweetest tone. "You'll bring Sorella won't you? And Brago?"

Sherry smiled at her and said in a pacifying tone, "Yes, _of course_, I will bring Brago and Sorella with me."

Flo twirled on one foot, something I was surprised a woman of her age could do, and started to sing happy show tunes. Sherry cast one last laughing glance at Flo and ushered me out the door. I snatched my white spell book from her angrily and stuffed it into my new bag, which I really did like a lot, so I said a quick thank you.

"I can completely understand why Brago never comes with you! That woman is the devil!"

Sherry waved a disbelieving hand. "It wasn't that bad."

I raised my eye brows. "Sherry? _Wasn't that bad_? Are you kidding? The woman struck me with a stick if I twitched a pinky and left small bruises, she nearly chocked me with the measuring tape, and I think I am officially mentally traumatized!"

Sherry laughed nervously and hurried her steps, and changed the subject randomly. "Let's go have some ice cream. It's nearly five thirty and we need to eat something. There's this great shop ahead, with fantastic meals, and after that we can have their specialty ice cream, the family makes it themselves, and it's the best! It's a little Italian place, so their ice cream is just glorious."

I nodded, excited, already forgetting about my trauma. Rita had gushed and gushed about ice cream but I had never actually tasted it. When I visited Rita that first day in the human world though, before Lance showed up and spoiled everything, she had given me chocolate. It was pure bliss.

"May I have chocolate flavored?" I asked politely as we entered the bustling little restaurant.

Sherry eyed me with shock once again. "You've had chocolate?"

I looked away, blushing embarrassedly. "Rita gave it to me, and well… well, she gave it to me before, you know, _before_."

Sherry's eyes saddened and her mouth opened as if she were about to say something but the hostess appeared before us. She was a small, olive skinned woman, dark haired, prominent nose, but had the most beautiful black eyes and lashes I had ever seen. Her name tag on her shirt said Eulalia. I questioned Sherry about this name, it sounded so foreign to me, and she answered back in my ear, "It means 'To Talk Well" in Italian. Ironic that she's the hostess, no?"

"Shall I seat you, two?" she asked, voice heavy with an accent, but rich and pleasing to hear. I felt immediately comfortable and I silently congratulated on whoever gave Eulalia her namesake because it matched perfectly.

Sherry and I followed her to a booth near a window, sitting across from each other. The woman handed us menus before calling over a waitress, equally olive skinned and dark haired, but with a smaller nose and not as pretty eyes.

"Hello, my name is Amalia, and I will be your server tonight. Can I start you off with drinks?"

"Water please," Sherry ordered for both of us.

I didn't really want anything besides, because if I found out I hated this kind of human food, I wanted something I could easily wash it down with. The waitress left to go get our drinks, leaving Sherry and I in an awkward silence.

"What looks good on the menu to you, Sorella?" Sherry asked, handing me one before looking upon her own.

My eyes roved across the plastic covered menu, not really knowing what to look at. I thought back to that soup Sherry made for me, so I asked her about it.

"How is the chicken?"

Sherry smiled, pleased that I was being so cooperative. Apparently when they eat out, Brago must do nothing my glower and drink water.

"I had their grilled chicken salad here before, it was huge and delicious. One wouldn't normally think that salad would be a filling and tasty meal, but the one here, yes. It had crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, soft egg whites, crunchy green peppers, smooth mozzarella cheese, and to top it off with crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, warm chicken."

My mouth began to water as I envisioned it and decided to have that to eat. Sherry decided to have it too, and when Amalia returned, pulling a pencil from behind one ear, that was what we told her we were having two chicken salads.

Silence resumed the table again, making it even more uncomfortable due to the excited babble surrounding us. We felt odd, especially me.

"Sorella?" Sherry asked in the smallest voice I had ever heard her use.

"Yeah?" I returned, wary. What did she want to ask me?

"Would you, would you mind telling me what happened? How Rita was taken from you?"

My fist clenched where it rested on the table, so I quickly put it on my lap so Sherry wouldn't see it. I looked down at the nicely wrapped silverware in front of me, anything to avoid her inquisitive blue gaze. I could understand why she wanted to know, it was a mystery to her, yet a mystery similar to her friend Koko. I decided to honor that connection.

"It was the first day of the battle…" I began, thinking I sounded awfully cheesy and cliché. Ah, well, that was how it happened, so that was how I would say it. "I was rushing to her house, eager to see her. I had never met her before, nor believed I ever would."

***

_My hand shook as I raised it to knock on the smooth wooden door, nervous about how I would introduce myself. As I was about to hit the door, however, it was flung open by a woman with mousy brown hair rolled into a knot at the base of her neck. Her eyes were green and wide as she looked at me, round face seeming rounder as her mouth became a gaping circle. _

_"Sorella?" she asked in a quivering voice. _

_I remembered her. "Christina!" I laughed rushing at her to embrace her in a hug which she did not return strongly. She was the one I talked to before Rita, one I had liked very much, much better than her mother anyway, the old bat. _

_Christina eyed the white book in my hand and her lips trembled. "Is… is Rita your...?"_

_My smile faltered. She didn't want me here. Rita and I were closer than anyone in our immediate families, I was certainly closer to her than I had ever been with my previous correspondents. The probability of Rita being my Book Master was high, and I could tell that Christina didn't want her daughter to have anything to do with the dangerous mamodo battle for king. _

_"I dunno yet…" I answered in a whisper. "Maybe…"_

_Christina nodded shakily and waved a hand inside her small and quaint home. "Come in… Sorella… I am sorry; it's just such a shock… I would never expect to see you here… especially since, well…"_

_"Since I am a half breed?" I finished with just a dash of malice. _

_Christina was silent, not wanting to say anything else to offend me. But I was offended the moment she flinched away from my contact when I hugged her. I heard a strange laughing sound followed by loud squealing as we entered the living room. It was a very tidy little place, the table surface gleaming cleanly and the peachy carpet neatly vacuumed. A little figure sat cross legged on the floor a few feet away from the bright screen of the strange sound and image box. Her short brown mousy colored hair was cut short to her chin. I recognized this girl immediately, even from the back. _

_My heart caught in my throat as I took a shaky step towards the girl, towards Rita. I could finally touch her, could finally embrace her, and I could finally know her as I have always wanted. _

_"Rita?" I asked in a quivering voice so small I barely recognized it. So unlike me. _

_Rita's back tensed and she froze immediately. Her head slowly turned, revealing warm eyes similar to mine in shape. We held each other's gaze for a long moment before sprinting towards each other, arms out stretched. I even dropped my book to the floor in my eagerness to reach her._

_"Oh my gosh, SORELLA!" Rita laughed, wrapping skinny arms around my waste, burying her face in my stomach. My arms wrapped around her shoulders and I nuzzled my face in her soft hair. _

_Tears came to my eyes but I didn't let them fall. I blinked rapidly to erase them before pushing Rita away slowly as to get a full view of her. Her eyes were definitely wet and on the verge of spilling tears. I grinned widely at her, joy radiating from the very core of my being. _

_"So, how exactly do you play Monopoly?" I asked with a laugh. _

_Rita giggled and hugged me once more before stepping away. Her eyes found my book and squealed, bouncing on the tips of her toes. _

_"Oh, Sorella, let me read it, please let me read it!" she begged. _

_I glanced towards Christina who was watching anxiously from the door frame, drying a bowl with a white towel repeatedly, not seeming to notice it was already dry. _

_"Sure, let's hope you can!" I laughed, sitting on the floor, tucking a strand of long hair behind my ear. I watched her nervously, hands trembling with both desire and fear. I both wanted her to read it and not be able to at the same time. Why did love have to be so darn complicated and sporadic?_

_Rita's small fingers opened the cover of the book slowly, eyes immediately going across the page in anticipation. But her big smile immediately fell into a frown. Her eyes saddened and her lips began to tremble in their pout. _

_"I can't read it. Any of it."_

_Her voice was small and broke on the last syllable. Christina let out a sigh of relief, one I felt churn up inside me as well, though I felt the bitter sting of disappointment. If Rita wasn't my Book Master, that meant I wouldn't be staying with her, it meant I wouldn't have as much time with her as I wanted. It was a bitter sweet feeling. _

_"That's okay, Rita!" I laughed with as much sincerity as I could, placing a comforting hand upon her trembling shoulder. "Now we can have fun without worrying about all those future battles and stuff! C'mon, I thought we were going to paint our nails, watch movies, and eat chocolate until we puke!"_

_Rita wiped her nose noisily on her sleeve before spinning around to face me with a huge smile once again on her round face. "Yes! Mom, where's that chocolate bar I saved for her?" _

_Christina walked from the room with an annoying smirk on her lips, one that I was used to seeing when things didn't go my way. My hands shook but I refused to let that woman, someone I had really liked until today, ruin my limited time with Rita. Still, I couldn't help but feel stung that someone I had talked to through the mirror eagerly with was so changed by how I might threaten her life here. _

_Rita sat in front of me, staring. I felt weird for a moment and was surprised when Rita's warm finger tips touched my cheek before moving over the rest of my face. The sensation was pleasing and lifted my heart up with complete contentment. I smiled at her, returning the gesture, touching every inch of the face I had talked to through a solid reflection for as long as I could. Rita was present, she was here, she was in front of me… something I had never dreamed possible…_

_This truly was the best day of my life…_

_Rita was explained television to me at around eight o'clock at night. I was devouring any chocolate based item in the house, already addicted to its sweet creaminess. The night was quickly coming to a close and Rita had begged her mom to let me stay until she relented. After all, how could anyone resist that adorable face? No one, that's who. We had painted our toe nails, though mine looked more like a splatter of red gore than the pretty tips of Rita's toes that were dashed with neat and clean red. Rita planned to play Monopoly after watching the movie on television. This was by far the strangest thing I had seen yet in this small town. _

_"So, there aren't really people in the box?" I asked._

_"No, just moving pictures, copies of the real people sent over to the television by invisible paths."_

_My eyes widened. "They're clones?!" _

_Rita laughed. "No, no, like pictures. You have pictures, don't you?"_

_I nodded. _

_"Like that, only they move."_

_I shook my head in disbelief. "This world is absurd. I don't understand it at all!"_

_Rita grinned maniacally. "Just wait until you see fireworks!" _

_I was about to ask what those were when a loud knocking echoed throughout the house. Rita looked through the curtains as Christina went to answer the door. _

_"It's some really tall guy with a lot of jewelry."_

_"Maybe he's a seals mean," I ventured. _

_"What?" Rita asked, lips twitching. _

_"Those guys you said walk around pestering people to take what they have."_

_"You mean salesman?" Rita laughed. _

_I started to laugh with her when Christina screamed. I leapt from where I sat on the bean bag chair and grasped my book tightly, not really knowing what I would do with it, seeing as I didn't have a Book Master to call my spells. But Rita was in danger; there was no way I would let her get hurt. Rita went behind me, hands grasping the fabric of my shirt as footsteps clacked loudly on the linoleum floor of the hall way, Rita's mother yelling for help from the open door. _

_A man of enormous height entered the room. He wore an outrageously flamboyant coat with numerous jewels on it that gleamed and shined in the warm light of the living room. His long, black hair was tied up in a high pony tail with one long strand hanging down the side of his face. I was immediately reminded of a horse's backside. His chin was boxy and square and his violet eyes were narrowed with intense malice as he looked at me. A purple spell book was in his hand. _

_"Rita!" I barked. "Get away!" _

_The mamodo chuckled. "No, no, no, filthy Sorella, there will be none of that! Not after I looked all over for you! I thought I would get rid of the vile, weak mamodo first! So, naturally falling into both of those categories, you were on the top!" _

_"Who are you and why are you pinpointing me?" I snarled, stepping in front of Rita._

_"You mean you don't remember?" he asked incredulously._

_"Of course not, I would remember someone as ridiculous as you!" _

_"You don't remember Lance? The most magnificent… you don't recall… at all… what you did to me?" Lance's voice broke and shuddered. "You must pay!" _

_He launched himself at me, and I was momentarily grateful neither of us had Book Master, because then we had no spells to throw at each other, saving Rita and her home countless damages. I pulled Rita with me into the air, flipping around him out of the way. I aimed a kick at Lance's face, which he blocked with the arm holding the spell book. One of the gems on his coat shattered from the force and he snarled angrily. Christina, out of nowhere, swung a carving knife down at his arm. I was momentarily impressed at how quick she was to attack him. She darted away quickly so he wouldn't be able to reach her when he recovered from the shock of the wound._

_Lance howled in pain as he dropped his book, attempting to stifle the flow of blood from his severely cut arm. Rita and I landed back on the ground and she darted forward to garb the book. I tried to hold her back but she was already out of my reach. The book was open on its spine, pages fluttering momentarily before becoming still. _

_"If I get it, you can burn it!" she yelled, about to scoop it into her arms as she exuded more bravery than I had believed of the tiny girl. She froze, however, as her eyes caught a glimpse of the pages, mouth forming the words: "Nerosen?"_

_A black ball burst forth from Lance's hand the size of an orange and went straight through the wall, leaving a clean hold behind. I gasped, Christina wailed in despair, and Rita's entire body trembled with fear as Lance turned to look at her slowly. _

_No… _

_"Well, well, well," Lance sneered. "Isn't this just perfect? The person filthy Sorella loves the most is my Book Master… how fortunate of me."_

_Rita stumbled back from him, flinging the book away from her into his chest. He caught it and with a raised eyebrow, looked down at her. _

_"No! I refuse!" Rita screamed, turning to rush at me where she believed she was safe. _

_"SUCH PETULANCE!" Lance roared as a heavy hand curled into a fist, preparing to strike her. _

_I acted without thinking. I sped forward; launching my body in front of Rita's which seemed so fragile and easily breakable, I intervened with Lance. The fist collided with my shoulder blade on my left side. I gasped out in pain as my arms wound themselves around Rita, protecting her as we tumbled to the floor. Lance ran at us and grabbing Rita by the neck, he placed a heavy foot on my chest, keeping my still. Christina sobbed and sobbed, not knowing what to do. _

_"You need to know your place, disgusting human," Lance hissed, placing his pointer finger at her left temple. Black miniscule threads shot from under his finger nail, going into Rita's head. _

_"NO!" I yelled out, stretching a hand for her, but it was already too late. _

_Lance dropped Rita to the floor where she sobbed momentarily, a black vein on her left temple, before standing and retrieving the purple spell book. _

_"Ta dah!" Lance exclaimed over boisterously. "How do you like that little trick that I can do all on my own? Impressive, correct? Of course!" Lance kicked me in my side, sending me flying into the wall behind me, smashing into the table Rita and I had moved so we could sleep in the living room. _

_Rita cried, tears of pain and sadness now running from her eyes, all the previous joy evaporated. Her warm eyes were cold as they looked at me, pleading with me to help her, pleading with me to forgive her, as if she had done something wrong. I tried to convey to her that I would stop at nothing to help her, I tried to yell at Lance, I even thought to beg, but no words would come out of my mouth. No sound could I make. Panic burned away at me as my heart raced, as my mind fought to believe the reality that Rita was Lance's Book Master and that I would have to fight her to free her. _

_"Come, human. Let us leave filthy Sorella to her own despair. It's a shame she wasn't strong enough to save you. We shall meet again, filthy Sorella, at which time I will gladly bask in the pain of you failing to rescue her."_

_Lance swept from the room, quietly cursing about the broken jewel in his coat, Rita close behind, sobbing loudly, wailing. I couldn't move, couldn't think, and couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Everything was going so perfectly, even Christina, who was showing slight animosity at the beginning of my arrival, was joining in Rita and my conversations! So wonderful, I was so happy!_

_Rita's distraught face crashed into me, cutting off all the senses that didn't include rage in them. _

_I rose, trembling, from where I lay amidst the debris of the broken table. Christina was curled upon the floor, head shaking, hands clawing at her chest. _

_"My child! My child!" She sobbed. I went to her, to place a hand on her shoulder, to assure her that I would get Rita back, but she flinched from me, eyes narrowed in disdain. _

_"STAY BACK!" Christina yelled. "This is your entire fault! I knew that the moment you came here things would change! I never wanted Rita to talk to you; I knew she would get too attached! I knew it would ruin her! From the moment you told her you were coming, that's all she could talk about! She even asked to take karate so she could help you fight! So she wouldn't be a burden if she was your Book Master! MY CHILD! You mamodo are all the same! Brutal, viscous, and you are the very worst! You brought that monster here and he took my child!" _

_Every single word stabbed into me like burning hot needles, every syllable was a new laceration upon my skin. My fists clenched as I realized how different this woman was now, how much she had changed. I realized that people who once loved you don't remain that way. _

_I knelt down in front of Christina and forced her to look at me. She did with hate filled eyes of acid green. _

_"I swear that I will fight with every fiber in my being to get Rita back. I will not rest until that bastard's book is burned. I will continue fighting until I die."_

_Christina glared in disbelief. _

_I snarled, "DO YOU THINK I DON'T LOVE HER? She is the first person to accept me for who I am besides my own mother, and even then I remind her of her love for her Book Master, one she will never see again! Rita is my life, she is like my sister, I will never give her up! I will not give up until her eyes are happy again! I swear to you with my life!" _

***

Sherry was gaping at me with a stunned expression. Our food had arrived and we hadn't even realized it. Sherry quickly forked some of the food into her mouth to occupy herself while I merely stared at my plate.

"People see me very differently, Sherry. I know that. I don't know what I did to anger Lance, but it seems just the fact that I am mixed blooded is offending. I am used to being stared at with malice and hate. But Rita…" my voice shook. I stared at Sherry with a burning fire. "I will not abandon her, not when she stood by me regardless of what I am. Never!"

"I don't understand," Sherry murmured sadly. "How can people judge you without even knowing you? You are a good person, a great person, and they determine you are evil just by who you are..."

I looked Sherry straight in the face. "Hate doesn't make sense, Sherry. Love doesn't make sense. Greed doesn't make sense. Determination doesn't make sense. The things most prominent in any being's life often don't make sense. If they did, they wouldn't matter as much. Blind emotion, love without even thinking, that is the purest of all feelings. Hate without thinking is the most petty."

I paused a moment to eat something quick. Sherry was right, the food was good.

"I've learned to accept it, Sherry, what I am. I am something in between, someone who doesn't really belong. But I found someone who doesn't look at it like that. I belong with her, by her side, as her closest friend. I have searched my whole life for something like that, for that kind of acceptance. I will be damned if I lose it now!"

Tears bubbled behind my eyes and I quickly brushed them away. I put more food into my mouth, chewing determinedly. I felt a sudden touch on my hand, something warm and soft. Upon looking at it, I realized it was Sherry's hand touching mine gently. I looked up at her in surprise, stunned to see her face the softest I had yet seen it.

"I don't think you've lost it or ever will, Sorella. I just think you found more of it."

Her voice was firm, sincere, and forceful. As if she were trying to tell the honest truth to the last person in the world she thought would believe her. I smiled at her gratefully, a strange feeling swooping inside my stomach. Upon reflecting, I realized this was hope. Hope that I had connected with someone other than my mother and Rita, and that if I can connect with someone like this again and again, soon I will have a lasting family that accepts me. I fondled the fork in my hand as I pulled my other out from under Sherry's, grateful beyond what words could say.

I looked outside, startled that it had grown dark. Clouds covered the sky like a thick shroud, but there was a tiny hole where a few twinkling stars could be seen. I smiled again, happy, many thoughts racing through my head. Even in the thickest of despair there is always a glimmer of hope…

I would hold these memories close to my heart, always. No matter that I will eventually leave Sherry behind, I would leave her with her friend Koko. I would help Sherry get her friend back, I would get strong enough to defeat Lance, and I would save all those who are precious to me. I would save all of those who gave me reason to believe that hate was not all that remained in a person's heart.


	10. Chapter 10 A Rough Rumble

**Chapter 10 A Rough Rumble**

**Author's Note**: _Sorry this one took a little while longer than the others. I wasn't sure what to put in this one, seeing as the other one was so informative. But I hope it turned out good and all that jazz, it's mostly just setting up for the next chapter, but I kinda wanted to do something to set Brago off in this one! I hadn't done a lot with Brago, yet, and I really like him. Any reviews are welcome, and certainly appreciated! Also, if anyone has suggestions, that's certainly welcome too! Thanks! =D_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell, but I did create Sorella, Lance, and Rita. They're mine, please don't take them. **

Sherry and I were walking down the sidewalk, yapping animatedly. We had left the ice cream parlor a few moments ago, just as it was closing. We hadn't noticed how late it was becoming until we ate our chicken salad and had a desert of fantastic ice cream. I reflected back to the first taste… it was SOOOOOO good! Cold and creamy, sweet and luscious! Yum! Chocolate ice cream was fantastic and just about the most amazing invention of all time.

I had my new leather bag strapped from my left shoulder to my right hip and Sherry was holding two bags of shopping items she had quickly snagged before all the stores started to close at around nine forty five, which seemed to me a ridiculous closing time. Why not just stay open all the way until ten? What was the point of closing fifteen minutes early? Regardless, we were swinging the paper bags lightly in our hands, smiley happily. I was extremely happy, especially as we passed a store just about to close and something in its window caught my eye.

"Sherry!" I cried out, pressing the tips of my fingers to the glass. "Please, let's go in here!"

Sherry strode over, asking, "Why? Something you want in there?"

I nodded fervently. "Yes please! Please, Sherry! Look!" I pointed to the box in the window eagerly, blushing when a slight crack appeared in the glass.

Oops. I quickly moved into the store so the owner wouldn't see me in front of the window, hence, the crack in the glass. Sherry laughed lightly behind me as we entered the store, a bell ringing over our heads as the door opened. The clerk looked aggravated at us as he was finishing counting his register money.

Sherry leaned over to hiss into my ear, "Sorry. I didn't mean to want to give him my money."

I barked a laughed and skipped over the window display, lifting the box from it, holding it out in front of me like some treasure.

"Monopoly!" I laughed, extremely excited. "Could we play when we get back home?"

Sherry froze and her mouth opened into a little "o" of surprise. Then a soft smile adorned her face and nodded, taking the box from my hands. I didn't know what she was surprised about, be knowing what Monopoly was, or saying her house was my home. Either way, I made her smile! Victory!

"Of course, just don't be surprised when I floor you!"

"Yes, but if you give me a few private lessons, then I can challenge Brago, and floor _him_."

Sherry laughed as she placed the game on the counter, pulling out the cash needed as the clerk rang it up. "You really want to beat him at things, Sorella."

I raised my chin. "Of course!"

How could I not want to be that guy at his own game? I will show him for being a cheater! I smiled wickedly at the thought of beating Brago at Monopoly, already forming tactics to get him to play in the first place. Sherry took the monopoly box from the clerk, not bothering to have him bag it, and instead stuffed it into a bag already swinging on her arm. The clerk came from behind the counter, waving at us.

"Okay, okay, you bought what you wanted. It's closing time."

He even pushed on Sherry's shoulder to get her to move! I turned towards him, golden eyes glaring. He gulped upon seeing my blazing eyes and furious expression.

"I think you will find that it's not wise to push my friend," I snarled.

Sherry twisted to glare at the man also, blue eyes like fire. "And I think you will also be surprised to discover that I am Sherry Belmont, a frequent customer in this area, not to mention a billionaire."

The man paled and it seemed as if all the color was sucked out of him. He smiled greasily and slid over to where we were, eyeing Sherry with a new found false respect.

"So sorry, ma'am! Allow me to apologize deeply from the bottom of my heart and…"

"Save it!" I snapped, scooping Sherry's arm within mine. "Your trash talk is annoying. I doubt you'll see us in your store again."

Sherry deliberately upturned her nose from him as if she smelled something nasty. An obnoxious gesture associated with the rich, one Sherry hadn't used much. We left the store leaving the man completely sick looking and frantic. The minute we were out of eye sight from him, we broke out laughing.

"Did you see his face?" I laughed, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "He's probably throwing up right now; scared to death you will ruin his business on purpose!"

Sherry nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "Yeah, what did you think of that nose upturn?"

I winked and gave her the "OK" sign with my hand. "Perfect, it had just the right touch. Stunning!"

A cat call came to our ears, loud and raucous sounding. "Whoo hoo! I could say the same thing, hun!"

Sherry and I exchanged annoyed looks and immediately began walking in the direction of Flo's. What a nuisance… I was frequently surprised by how rude some humans could be. Did men have no respect around here?

"Ridiculous," Sherry mumbled, clearly sharing my thoughts.

Our eyes narrowed simultaneously as we heard loud footsteps rushing towards us, a man spinning around us to stop us. He was a reasonably dressed man, not grungy, but he had an air of arrogance about him, as if we were blessed that he was making such an effort to talk to us. His hair was a disheveled brown and his face was covered in short stubble, apparently trying for the punk kind of look. His eyes were a hazel, muddy brown. Not at all pleasing to the eye in general was this man. He looked maybe a few years older than Sherry, adding on to our displeasure of him.

"Hey, hun, haven't seen you around before!" He purred, smiling at me. His demeanor was smooth and calm, happy, even if it was in a creepy, staring kind of way.

I stole a sideways glance at Sherry and we both smirked. We scoffed and made our way around the man, walking on either side, laughing mockingly. I heard a disgruntled sound and hurried around us again, now looking aggravated. Sherry rolled her eyes while I sighed. Really? _Really_? How annoying…

"What's the problem, ladies? Don't you both want to hang out with me?"

"No, not at all," Sherry and I replied simultaneously.

The man's flirtatious and charming act fell instantly to the floor like a mask having the strap holding it in place snipped. He glared at me in particular. I couldn't understand why this was; Sherry and I had both said the same thing.

"So you don't want me, eh?" He asked me.

I was confused yet again by his meaning. "How can I own a person?"

Sherry smirked as the man's face flushed. He curled his hand into a fist. He made a small step slowly towards me and stopped to glare at me in what he must have thought was a menacing stare. This made me laugh because he was far from intimidating in the slightest.

"Something funny about my brother?" A booming voice asked.

I turned behind me to see a fairly large, older buff man behind me in a super tight t-shirt ready to burst at the seams. He had on greasy pants with smears on the as if he had just wiped his fingers off after eating fried chicken. He had short cut dirty blonde hair and black eyes that were just plain creepy.

Okay, this guy was a little intimidating. A _little_. Nothing compared to Brago of course.

"I asked you a question."

I straightened myself and glared up at him defiantly. "I do, actually."

"Yeah?"

I smirked at him haughtily. "That's what I said, wasn't it?"

The older man clenched his fists and his muscles bulged under his shirt, threatening to rip it to shreds. The younger man sneered at us, clearly used to his brother helping him out on more than one occasion. It seemed to me that these two needed a lesson on strength.

"No one talks to me like that! The name's Benny and this is my little brother Jane."

I looked at Sherry and she was smiling. "_Jane_…" I said sweetly, teasing him on his name. I remembered how I had teased Sherry and Brago similarly upon meeting them the first time. "How… _sweet_. Sherry? What do you think?"

"About them needing a scolding? Most definitely."

I turned towards Benny with a swift upper cut, punching him straight into the jaw, lifting him into the air. Jane called out his name in a terrified squeal as Benny fell to the floor with a heavy boom.

"That was no fun at all," I sneered, looking over my shoulder at Sherry.

A strong hand was suddenly around my throat the moment I turned away, closing my wind pipe almost completely. He lifted me off of my feet, and I was punching him in his arm with fierce jabs, leaving obvious red marks. He winced but refused to drop me. Sherry called out my name and Benny responded by squeezing my neck all the tighter. I choked and silently berated myself for taking my eyes off of the enemy.

"You wanted this one, right?" Benny growled, shoving my face near Jane.

Jane's smug smirk was infuriated as he eyed me appreciatively.

"Yep. This one, pretty ain't she?" He smiled crookedly over at Sherry. "Although, that one's not all that bad either. Perhaps we could split them up between us?"

Sherry snarled, kicking Jane in the leg. He tumbled to the ground with a cry of pain and Sherry flipped around to kick Benny in the eye but froze upon seeing my face turning blue due to the lack of air.

"I don't think you want to be doin' that, miss fancy," Benny growled. "See, Jane here wants your little friend, and he always gets what he wants. I can't have you getting in my way, so I think you should be moving along." He squeezed my neck even tighter and my eyes widened in slight fear. "Or, I could always snap her neck; my brother would still enjoy her."

Sherry clenched her teeth and spun away, sprinting speedily down the sidewalk, bags swinging from her arms dangerously.

Shock overwhelmed me along with hurt that Sherry had left, and I felt furious towards her, that is, until I saw her pulling a black book out of her hand as she went. I realized then, she must be going to get Brago. I hoped for a moment he wasn't waiting with Jii to pick us up because I wouldn't want him to see me in such a ridiculous situation.

I decided that the moment this guy released his hold on my neck I would show them what it meant to attack a mamodo.

***

Sherry's feet pounded against the concrete fiercely, heels clacking loudly. She was so irritated with herself for letting something so simple get so out of hand. Sorella and herself were more than capable in handling those two morons, but the moment that guy cut off Sorella's ability to call her spells it was done. Sherry needed to get him to let go of her throat and besides…

Sherry wanted Brago to annihilate them.

It sounded that the two were all too familiar with targeting women for their own lecherous reasons. The way the younger one had come out before them first so sweetly, and then after Sherry and Sorella had insulted him, his brother was right there. The whole statement about how _Jane always got what he wanted… _

Bile rose in Sherry's throat as she thought about it. Her legs pumped harder and harder still when her eyes noticed the nickering horses in front of Flo's shop.

"Jii!" Sherry called, tossing the bags at his feet. "Is Brago with you?!"

Jii seemed startled for a moment at Sherry's frantic behavior and the furious, murderous glint in her eye, but he made no note of it. He pointed to Flo's building behind me and I turned, hoping upon hope he wasn't caught by Flo as she was leaving the store.

But the store was black; there was nothing inside but merchandise, no employees. Instinctively Sherry twitched her head upward and there he was, sitting on the roof, one leg dangling off the side, the other raised with an elbow resting on it casually. His red eyes pierced through the darkness of the night and his black fur cloak flared around him menacingly.

"Brago!" Sherry called… actually, more like barked. His eyes narrowed at Sherry's expression and the book in her hand.

Brago jumped down nimbly from the roof and landed in front of Sherry, his back erect, eyes gleaming.

"A mamodo? Where is Sorella?" he rasped. He peered around the area for signs of a battle.

Sherry shook her head. "No, not a mamodo."

"Human trouble? Then why do you need me?" Brago was agitated.

"I want to destroy them, let's go!" and off Sherry went.

Brago actually followed, intrigued by the glint in her eyes, one that he was used to seeing within his own behavior, but Sherry was always the reasonable one, never wanting blood for the sake of it.

They must be absolutely despicable.

***

I was really irritated now. I didn't grab my book; I wouldn't until this guy's hand was off of my throat, which it was not. I didn't want him to believe I had a weapon in my bag, and then take it away from me. Well, okay, _technically_, my book was a weapon, but _either way_…

"Jane, how do you wanna do this?" Benny asked, shaking me slightly at Jane.

Jane looked me over quickly and pointed to the wall in the ally. Benny carried me into the alley and I smirked inside. Perfect, less chance for someone seeing me use my spells. Benny slammed me into a wall opposite him, still holding me by the neck. I would probably have bruises there, but oh well; they would heal during the night and be gone the next day. I would pay them back with interest the moment I was released. I already knew what spell I would use and I looked forward to seeing their stunned faces when I used it. My palm tingled in anticipation.

Jane was in front of me, peering at me with his head tilted slightly, almost like a child.

He smiled, "So, what's your name, hun?"

Benny released some of the hold on my throat, just barely enough to allow me to gasp out a breath.

"None of your business," I breathed, inching my hand into my new bag slowly in preparation.

Jane pouted. "Well, that's no fun. I want to at least know who you are."

His hand gently tugged a strand of my hair, a disgusting smile on his face.

"Oh well, you'll be fun regardless, won't you?" he leered.

His foot shifted slightly in my direction and I waited for Benny to release his hold on my throat, yet he did not. I glanced up at him, worried and confused. Jane's mocking laugh went through the air delicately. My eyes narrowed and my scowl deepened. Okay, plan b. Kicking this guy between the legs the minute he comes within range.

"Oh, Benny keeps the difficult ones quiet while I have my fun. That's why we're a team! It's much more efficient."

Panic flared within me for a moment as his hand stretched out to caress my face. It was gross, his skin was greasy.

"I know you would be difficult, yeah? This will be fun!" He laughed, taking a step. I watched his feet carefully. About two more steps and he would have it… but I still shuddered at the touch of his fingers stroking my face. Okay, extra power in the kick.

A black clawed hand was suddenly around the wrist of the arm Jane was touching my face with. My eyes flashed towards the body that the tattooed arm belonged to. Brago's eyes were a blazing red, absolutely furious. His filed teeth were clenched and a snarl burst from behind them. Sherry was behind him, black book open and glowing.

Jane gaped in shock and fear went through him as Brago's grip tightened dangerously.

"This _will_ be fun!" Brago growled, smirking. He squeezed and Jane's wrist snapped with a sickening crack. He screamed in pain and tried to pull away from Brago, but Brago had another idea. He pulled Jane up by the arm and threw Jane hard from him.

"Jane!" Benny bellowed absolutely furious.

He released his hold on me and I fell to the ground gently to my feet, pulling out my book like a sword from a sheath. Benny charged Brago who remained still, eyeing him as if wondering that he was seriously attacking him.

"_Jiusenuga_!" I cried, my white book glowing profusely with white light. I stretched out my right hand and the solid beam of light erupted from my palm, directly hitting Benny in the small of his back.

He howled and collapsed to the floor, cringing, gasping in pain before falling unconscious. How disappointing, he wasn't even a warm up, despite his buffness.

"ou shouldn't turn your back on anyone," Brago scolded the inanimate form.

I looked behind me at Jane who was rising to his feet, glaring at Brago with anger. He must not have seen me attack Benny with a spell, because he was eyeing Brago with fury. I couldn't believe he was stupid enough not to notice the bright books Sherry and I held in our hands. I mean, they were so _obvious_, how can anyone not notice something so abnormal?

"Who said you could interrupt?" He screamed shrilly, rushing at Brago. "You've ruined everything!"

"Ruined what, you forcing yourself upon an unwilling girl?" Sherry snarled, absolutely livid. "Men like you make me sick! I bet you've done this many times before!"

Jane's answer was only a smirk. That was good enough for Sherry.

"_Gigano Reis_!" Sherry screamed, the energy of her book flaring higher than the top of her blonde head.

`The massive ball of purple energy burst from Brago's hand and soared past me, ruffling my dress and hair. I closed my eyes a moment, reveling in the energy I felt as it passed me. Yes, Brago was certainly powerful. It was a good feeling to experience; I loved it because I knew I would have power like that soon. Jane shrieked in terror and turned to flee.

"Too late," I whispered, opening my eyes to watch. This is what he gets for ruining women.

His scream pierced the night air, no doubt alarming someone to the struggle that was fought here. The broken dumpster Brago's spell had collided with along with Jane was an obvious indicator. I decided to do some quick explanation and wrote a word in extremely large letters on the brick wall across from me with my _Jiusenuga_ spell. It explained the two mean accurately and simply. I turned towards Brago and Sherry.

"Good teamwork, eh?" I asked with a smile.

Sherry glowered, still furious at the men. I decided to let her fume a moment. It was probably a stupid idea, but I decided to irk Brago a little.

"You know, I was about to kick that guy in a very sensitive spot before you arrived. He just needed to take two more steps and I would have had him."

Brago glared at me. "What are you implying?" His tone was that of death.

I smirked. "I _guess_ I didn't _need_ you…" but I was cut off by a punch to the face.

It wasn't hard enough to knock me down but it still hurt. My hand flew to my cheek and I stared wide eyed at Brago's enraged face.

"What was that for?!" I snapped, over my shock already.

"For being foolish! This is what happens when you let your guard down!" Brago growled. A clawed finger pointed to Jane's unconscious, slightly smoking form.

"What's your problem? I had it under control. I had a plan in case Sherry didn't come back quickly enough."

I didn't understand why he was so worked up. I put my book back into my bag and adjusted it on my shoulder. I brushed some dust off of my dress, trying to avoid looking at him. He was glaring at the finger bruises on my neck and his red eyes vanished into the white depths on his face. Wow, he was super mad!

"Well, wearing something like that, it would be a wonder how you didn't attract disgusting excuses for humans!" Brago was quickly resuming his cold indifferent attitude, yet his eyes were far narrower than normal, almost slits of pure white.

I giggled, "What? My outfit?"

"It's ostentatious," Brago grumbled while looking at me sideways, red eyes already visable.

I eyed him skeptically. "Really, Brago? _Really_? _My_ outfit is ostentatious?"

Brago turned away moodily while I smirked at him. "I attract attention regardless. You attract too much attention from males."

I snickered again. I found it immensely that Brago was some sort of a defender of women, and men that irritated him beyond reckoning were ones that mistreated women… all this coming from a guy who lacks chivalry and manners, who's rude and pushy and forces a girl like Sherry to climb mountainsides and whatnot.

"Well, it's over and done with so we can just forget about it."

"You are taking it far too calmly, Sorella!" Sherry snapped, catching me off guard.

I was beginning to feel confused… again. Why were they getting so worked up? It's not like anything happened, it was prevented, these guys will get locked up, hopefully, and everything turned out fine. Why were they so upset?

"Why are you both so upset?" I asked, walking in step with them as we turned a corner, spotting Jii and the horses up ahead.

Brago growled and Sherry turned towards me, blonde bangs falling into her still fiery blue eyes, ringlets bouncing with each step she took.

"Sorella, this was very serious. You have to understand that things won't always turn out that well in this world. You may be a mamodo, but you are a _female_ mamodo that's looks extremely human! What if you were alone and caught off guard and were separated from your book, tied up, or anything like that?! AND you don't have a Book Master to look out for you! You need to stop joking and take this seriously!"

"I agree. Your naïve attitude is aggravating," Brago chimed in with his gravelly voice.

I huffed, despite that what they were saying was making sense. I lowered my gaze to assume the position of demure sincerity. "I apologize. I will be careful."

Sherry seemed to accept this and helped me up into the carriage already filled up with our bags. But Brago was not nearly as accepting. He eyed me skeptically for a moment before turning away, arms crossed tightly over his chest. Aggravation and anger was still etched on his face as he glared at everything we passed with a heat to rival the flames of hell itself.


	11. Chapter 11 Understanding?

**Chapter 11 Understanding?**

**Author's Note**_: In case anyone was wondering why I used that particular situation last chapter, it was because in our Multicultural Class we learned about human trafficking and abuse. It was extremely sad, so I wanted to put some kind of situation relating to that to show how horrible it could be and all that as well as to emphasize that people need to be safe and kind. Just to clarify things, you know?_

_Anyway, sorry this chapter took so long to update, long for me anyway, I had school work to finish up and I wasn't really sure what to write…. Read and review please, also, suggestions for what you guys would like to see happen are also welcome! ^_^ _

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Zatch Bell. Sorella, Rita, and Lance are mine though... and Rita's mom and stuff too, I guess, but those three specifically are mine. Kay kay? Awesome, enjoy the chapter! :)

I glared at the ridiculous contraption with all the fury I could muster. It was boxy and sharp, and threatening to me. My eye twitched as I reached out to the long black handle, ready to spring away should I need to defend myself. I pulled the oven mitt tighter over my hand and gulped. The heavy door was pulled down by gravity and issued a metallic clang.

Smoke swirled out in a gush from the now open compartment. My mitted hand dove in to the hot, dark abyss, withdrawing when my fingers clamped upon the flat, metal square pan. I kicked the oven door shut with a frantic swing and an awkward cry. I dropped the hot pan onto the counter as I twisted the odd knobs on the oven, trying to turn it off. When I felt I had done the job, I turned around slowly, like that of someone who hears the evil chuckle of a villain behind them, to view my meal.

Or what remained of it.

My chicken nuggets, the ones that looked so delectable when I had spotted them in the freezer within Sherry's kitchen, were blackened and not at all the golden brown I dreamed of. I sighed in absolute devastation and then, in my rage, swung around to face the vile contraption responsible for burning my nuggets.

"YOU!" I cried, jabbing a finger at it like a dagger. "You wretched, despicable… you… well, whatever it is you are, you're punishment will be carried out by me! You think you've won?! Ha! Just you wait, the next time I make use of your abilities, my chicken nuggets will be magnificent!"

"What are you doing?" a rough voice asked from behind me.

I turned to see Brago staring at me from the opposite end of the counter, arms crossed over his chest, mouth in a trademark scowl. My cheeks flushed momentarily before regaining composure.

I huffed, stalking over to him, sitting on the stool opposite o where he stood. He did not sit but continued to stare… almost quizzically, if he was capable of it. I picked dismally at the blackened crisp that was supposed to be a lion shaped nugget before sighing.

"The metal box of heat ruined my food."

Brago raised an eyebrow… at least that was what it would look like if he had eyebrows, and seemed genuinely confused.

"Why would you bother with that thing in the first place? It's a _human_ contraption."

I slammed a fist onto the gleaming counter so heavily that some of the chicken nuggets bounced from their tray and into the air, falling back down with multiple clatters. My amber, golden eyes narrowed menacingly.

"What are you implying?" I hissed.

"Just that you are exceedingly hopeless when it comes to using machines like that. You don't have the abilities to use them."

My stomach bubbled with rage along with the hunger that I now couldn't satisfy due to my failed meal preparation.

"I lack the abilities to use human mechanisms?"

Brago leaned against the counter, picking up a black chunk that must have once been a hippo. He shook it at me, black crumbles tumbling down like hail.

"Obviously."

I threw my hands into the air in frustration. "Why don't YOU try it, smarty pants?!"

Brago glowered. "I don't need to, I don't cook my meat."

I rolled my eyes. "How _convenient_…" I was irritated now. I had no food, I lacked technique in using human technology, and Brago knew of it. Could things get any worse?

"SORELLA!!!!!!!!!" a shrill voice screamed angrily.

I flinched, hands flying to my book bag to protect my book just in case. Brago eyed me with a pleased sort of expression. I stared back, open mouthed.

"Do you know why Sherry's mad?" I whispered.

Brago's pointed tooth smirk grew more pronounced. He shoved away from the counter and went to lean against the stone wall with the air of a spectator getting ready to watch something they've been anticipating.

Dread swirled within me as Sherry burst into the room, dress and hair swirling around her like billowing smoke and flames. I flinched, fearful.

"Sherry? What's the matter?"

Her chest heaved as if she had just exerted copious amounts of energy. Her heels clacked against the floor as she stepped towards me slowly. I kind of edged away from where I was sitting so I could stand, as well as dodge any attack she would throw at me. This reminded me to look all around for her staff, making sure it was not within her grasp.

"How on earth did you cause so much damage as to cost me THIS much money?!" she shrieked, stuffing a piece of paper in my hand.

I looked at it, not understanding. Sherry didn't hold much for her money, but apparently this much was what was making her angry. I looked at the little numbers, trying to calculate what I had done.

There was the bill for the car when I had first gotten here, there was the closet door I had accidentally smashed into when I tripped and banged right into it, there was the training gym's floor that I had smashed in training with Brago, there was the bust of Sherry's great grandfather I had punched to the floor, thinking it was an enemy… but I don't see how she could blame me for that, it was in the hall right outside the bathroom, I panicked! What kind of place is that to put a copy of someone's head? The list went on and on, so much so that the paper trailed to my knees from my raised hands.

I grinned sheepishly, attempting to not try Sherry's patience.

"How did you configure this?" I mumbled, shooting a glance at Brago, who smirked in return.

"DOES IT MATTER?!" Sherry yelled, throwing her hands up. "Sorella, this is ridiculous, you really need to be more careful around here! I am not _made_ of money, you know!"

"Of course not, that would be completely ridiculous," I answered with absolute sincerity. How could she be made out of something that had no ability to sustain itself and live? I knew, however, that this was not the right thing to say at this time.

"Don't try to play idiotic!" Sherry hissed in a deadly quiet voice.

"I don't think she's playing idiotic, that's how she is."

I glared at Brago who now put on his cold mask. I swiped a finger across my throat, indicating I would slaughter him later. He scoffed at this, red eyes blazing crimson, welcoming the notion of throttling me in battle. I looked away quickly, knowing how Sherry got a hold of those records. He must remember everything with accurate detail. So this was how he was getting back at me for beating him at training that one time, and how I had insulted him when we first met. I had been waiting for it for a while and was surprised he had taken such a route.

"Sorry, Sherry, I will be more careful! I will not ruin anything else from this point on!" I declared raising my finger.

Unfortunately…

A loud beeping issued form the metal heat box, the oven, and black smoke burst forth from the sides of the door and swarmed towards the ceiling. I froze. This could not be happening… water suddenly poured from little faucet things on the ceiling and Sherry's eyes closed in extreme aggravation as her dress darkened from the water. I twitched away from her only to hear Brago.

He snarled bloodcurdlingly and I faced him, scared to death. Then I actually saw him.

His fur was already soaked and hanging in a heavy glop around his shoulders, the normally bristled fur was now flat and smooth. His pants were of equal measure but his airy black hair was plastered to his forehead and dripping down his face. Brago made to move and leave the raining kitchen but he moved sluggishly, legs heavy with the water absorbed pants.

I couldn't help myself, then. I laughed uncontrollably like usual, an inconvenient habit of mine.

"Brago looks like a drowned, furry cat!" I roared. Brago snarled but Sherry started laughing too, almost silent in her giggling.

"This is ridiculous," Brago growled, storming from the room.

"CHARMA SUCKS, BRAGO, REMEMBER THAT!" I jeered, clutching my sides as I sped from the wet kitchen, scooping my bag into my arms, glad I had returned my book back into its depths.

I snickered as I made my way down the hall, ringing my dress out, heading to my room. I sighed happily. The past week had been wonderful. I had learned Monopoly and even beaten Sherry once. Brago refused to play with us, but Jii volunteered most enthusiastically. Ironically, he won in a landslide compared to the billionaire's daughter whose job it was to earn money in such a way. Jii's jovial voice filled up my ears and even squashed the burn of defeat within me. I smiled to myself. Yes, things were wonderful…

I stopped in my tracks, looking up to the ceiling, sighing, hearing Rita's scream of "GET AWAY!" as if she were yelling right into my ear. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice a pair of red eyes watching me from behind. I was too busy thinking of the things that brought a smile to my face, the things that caused things to be wonderful. My fists clenched and my mouth tightened.

It never lasts.

***

I sighed, irritated. I was furious. So furious, my book flared with white light because of my heart energy. They had left without me, of all the nerve. They had gone to fight a mamodo in the middle of the night, leaving me sleeping.

My fists clenched and my teeth bore as I snarled to myself. Why?! Why was I left out? Did Brago want to test his own abilities? Hadn't I gotten stronger? I had recently learned a fifth spell, so it must not be my progress that's annoying him… or maybe it is… maybe I am progressing too fast and he doesn't want me to get stronger.

I leaned my head back against the arm rest of the chair I had curled up in. I was in the main room that Sherry would treat guests in. The atmosphere was warm here and one couldn't see the ruined landscaping due to the training Brago and I were doing lately. My book lay upon my chest as I studied it, glancing over my five spells.

I _must_ be adequate… why else are they allowing me to stay? Sherry likes me, and Brago… well, he tolerates me. I must be of use, so why not bring me along?! Why leave Jii behind to relay the information that they would be back early afternoon?

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Unable to contain the rage rising within me, I lifted my right hand towards the open window across from me. The curtains billowed with a slight breeze that flew through the empty space, ruffling my dress and hair into my face. I scowled.

"_Jiusenuga_," I whispered before a solid beam of white light exploded from my palm and soared right out the window. The lawn was dry and now resembling more of a small crater than a green lawn one my spell faded. My book's light snuffed out immediately after, but because of satisfaction for the action, more like the opposite.

"Why wasn't I brought along?" I whispered to myself, feeling alone and frustrated.

A door opened and closed, alerting me to the far off voices of someone returning. I leapt up from my chair, ready to confront them with a raging fury, until I heard Sherry question someone in a speculative voice.

"So… you want us to join your cause?" Sherry asked as they headed towards the room I was in, clearly entertaining some guest.

I froze where I was, unsure of what to do. I frantically looked around for a place to hide. I looked up at the high ceiling with the large wooden beams. Smirking, I leapt up swiftly and seated myself in a v-shaped beam, making myself comfortable.

The door opened as if right on cue, Brago, Sherry, and a man with a ridiculous hat entering the room. On the man's shoulder was perched a small child, almost toy-like in his appearance. I recognized him instantly as a mamodo.

Ah, how interesting…

Sherry gestured for the visitors to sit on the couch opposite where she was sitting, a table with tea between them, freshly prepared by Jii. The smell wafted all the way to where I was and I had to admit that it did not smell appetizing. Okay, my mamodo blood despises tea. Why don't we jot that onto the list of things I actually _know_… Brago refused to sit and instead stood at the head of the table between Sherry and the mamodo with his Book Master. The mamodo whispered into the man's ear with a "Mr. Riddles" in the sentence. That must be the Book Master's name.

"Hmm… we must join together in order to defeat…"

I rolled my eyes. Mr. Riddles did not know Brago at all…

"No."

Victory! There it was! Mr. Riddles exclaimed in protest. Next would be some raspy statement about not wanting to babysit some weak worms or something of the sort.

"Why do I have to join your group? I refuse to protect weaklings' behinds."

I silently snickered at Mr. Riddles' and his mamodo's flabbergasted faces. Idiots…

"But Lord controls many demons from the last battle!" the mamodo and his Book Master cried out simultaneously. "Your partner must think…"

Their speech stopped. Sherry's face was truly magnificent in its rage, it was no wonder it stopped those two in their tracks. They did not know that there was no telling Sherry what she MUST think… ridiculous ignorance.

"I'm very sorry, monsieur. Please leave."

I clenched my fingers tightly to keep from rushing to Sherry. I hated seeing the anger flare up in her like that. I had noticed its increase during our training lately, the sheer determination to become strong in order to achieve her goals.

I disliked it. I preferred her smile.

"I appreciate the information regarding Lord's whereabouts," Sherry stated as she clutched the folds in her dress as she rose from the couch. "But this lord is also my foe. I will not need your help to defeat him."

Her tone was clipped and exuded finality. I had to smirk in admiration at this; Sherry knew what she knew and would not be dissuaded.

"FOE?!" Mr. Riddles said loudly. "BUT YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY DEFEAT ALL OF THEM…"

I rolled my eyes. Really, this guy knew nothing about Sherry and Brago.

"Monsieur… It seems you've been calling on some other demons for help… but please convey this message to them."

I waited with bated breath, feeling like I was watching an intense battle just reaching the climax. The mood almost called for… what was it? _Popcorn_… A black, ominous aura surrounded Sherry like a blanket as her blue eyes cut into Mr. Riddles and the mamodo. They seared with all the hate, devotion, and rage within her body.

"Do not touch this Lord of whom you speak… if you do I will not be pleased."

_I _even shuddered from where I perched above them. I could hear the lightly veiled threat within her seemingly calm words.

"If that is true… I will also be taking care of the demons he controls. Please…"

Mr. Riddles and the mamodo flinched as her cerulean eyes cut through them like razors. A cold sweat broke upon the pair and rightly so.

"Don't get in my way!" Sherry hissed, stabbing the two with all the authority of the world itself.

Sherry turned towards the door that led to outside, a different one than the one they came in through, and Mr. Riddles followed, his mamodo swaying slightly on his shoulder like some absurd parrot. The man questioned her exactly who this lord is and I strained my ears so I would catch what exactly Sherry said. This wasn't exactly a topic that was spoken of here.

"Fine. In return for your information I will tell you a little about Lord. Lord is not his real name. The demon who controls minds is named Zophis."

Zophis, I repeated in my head. He stole Koko from Sherry, manipulated her heart to become evil, and is even as they were speaking trying to gain forces to take over.

"He took control of my best friend's mind and stole away her happiness…" Sherry paused and opened the door, clearly suggesting Mr. Riddles leave.

"He is the worst kind of demon," Sherry breathed with a sound like a hiss.

I thought back to Rita and that infuriatingly smug smirk of Lance. No, I couldn't argue with her there. The man and his mamodo left, with their oddities and all, without another word but more of a disappointed expression upon their faces.

I remained where I was, contemplating what I had heard. Why should they protect weaklings' behinds? That was what Brago had said. And the fierce desire of Sherry's that no one should get in her way… did that include me? Was I a nuisance? My hands clenched the front of my dress tightly, as if I had a stomach ache. I bit my lip, determined to not utter a sound until they left.

"Come down from there," Brago called in a quiet growl as Sherry shut the door.

I started. I hadn't realized that they had noticed me up here. I huffed nervously, draping the strap of my bag across my chest, and leapt from my spot above them. My light dress flared beneath me like a parachute and swirled around my thin legs like a cloud when I landed.

"You knew I was there?" I questioned, looking at the two of them in the eye. I would not be ashamed of eavesdropping. I was at perfect liberty to know the truth. "Why?" I snapped, referring to them leaving without me as well as their previous statements.

Sherry looked me straight in the face, coming close to me. I stood my ground, demanding her with my eyes to tell me whether she thought me a burden like the others.

"You want Lance all to yourself, don't you?" her fiery voice questioned suddenly.

My golden eyes widened in surprise at the turn the conversation was taking. They then narrowed quickly and tightened in suspicion.

"I feel the same about Zophis, Sorella. The rage is eating away at you, isn't it?"

I flinched away from her words, feeling their truth like a sting. The acidity dripped from her tongue like the venom of a rattlesnake.

"Everything was so perfect before wasn't it? Everything seemed to fit and it seemed like everything was as it should be… perfect. You felt whole, you felt complete, and you felt peaceful."

Her words echoed of truth in my mind, bouncing around and around accompanied with the memories of that night with Rita when I had first seen her face to face. My eyes widened further, startled that her words were so accurately describing what had been eating away at me recently.

"But then it was stolen, wasn't it?" Sherry hissed. "It felt like the floor beneath you crumbled and you fell down and down… now that the perfection was eradicated it seems like it will never return. It seems that everything good that happened was tainted, and everything good that _has _happened will quickly become poisoned."

My fists shook. I saw Brago's reflection as he glared out the window and, as usual, it was an empty canvas. Void of anything.

"I understand, Sorella. You want to destroy whoever stole that piece of you, whoever ruined that happiness forever. So, as I understand you, you must understand me, for we are the same."

Sherry's eyes narrowed and her mouth turned into a grimace. "You _won't_ get in my way."

I recoiled from her in shock. Her attitude was so drastically different. I felt a cold bead of sweat roll down my neck and I couldn't bring myself to look directly into Sherry's eyes as she passed me. A chocking sob threatened to rise from my throat. Since… since when… when had Sherry…

I _hated_ to see that expression.

Brago's footsteps, the boots clicking against the floor with a slight metallic sound, came towards me. I looked him in the face, searching for some kind of explanation, for some kind of reassurance, though I expected none. It was not Brago's way to comfort.

He glared at me with the same kind of resolve that Sherry possessed. It was the same kind of fierce brutality in his strong features as in Sherry's. Severe determination. Brago's black clawed hands were shoved into his pockets, indicating he wasn't going to hit me or anything for listening in on the conversation.

"You _do_ understand. It's in your nature. You cannot deny that."

I gulped and nodded, understanding what he and Sherry were trying to tell me. I couldn't falter in my own determination to fight Lance. I knew that I wouldn't let anyone get in my way, just as Sherry wouldn't let anyone get in hers.

But…

Brago strode after Sherry, presumably to train, yet I did not follow. I felt a swirling confusion within my skull, a throbbing aching in my chest. Sherry didn't want help. Sherry didn't want to be restricted in how she fought Zophis. Sherry didn't want to be hindered. Sherry didn't want to have anything blocking her judgment. Sherry wanted to be able to fight with all the ferocity of a cornered mountain lion. Sherry wanted to rescue her friend. Sherry would do anything to achieve that goal.

All this I understood.

A tremor raked down my spine as I pictured those blue eyes piercing through me again, full of malice. I did NOT want to be like that. I would not become ruthless like my enemy. I would not cause Rita to suffer in seeing me so monstrous. How could Sherry bring herself to be like that?

No, that I did not understand at all.


	12. Chapter 12 Arrival

**Chapter 12 Arrival **

Author's Note: _Okay, all, here's the thing… my laptop got a whole bunch of viruses and stuff, so, when it's fixed, there will be no more internet usage on it. Therefore, my uploading new chapters are limited to the public library and school. Therefore, I won't be able to update as frequently, BUT I WILL STILL UPDATE, so no worries! I just wanted to let you guys know about it! All right, here's the chapter, and I appreciate you guys for reading this and sticking through with me if you continue, despite the longer update time!: )Also, I hope this chapter wasn't rushed, so please let me know if you're feeling that way, and I will slow down the pace. Sometimes I get so excited about what I am writing that I don't notice! Thanks and enjoy! :) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell, but I did make up Sorella, Lance, Rita, and the family members of those characters and stuff. Don't take them, por favor. That's please in Spanish! :)_

Brago glowered at Sherry, asking her with his red eyes to pick up the pace, though it was not needed. She was very determined of late, particularly since they had left her large home to head off to where Zophis was. Her eyes were flinty and invigorated, as if she were relishing the thought of Zophis' book burning. Brago turned from her to glare ahead of him.

Sherry was improving a great deal, but Sorella, on the other hand…

He glared at her from the corner of his eyes, studying her expression. Her golden, amber eyes were downcast, as if preoccupied, and her pearly teeth were chewing on her bottom lip, as if worried. Her small hands continuously fidgeted with a strand of her lustrous hair, quite annoyingly, in fact. It seemed like her strength continued to fluctuate; one moment it was satisfyingly fierce, the next, infuriatingly wilted.

"Fear is a weak emotion that has no place in battle," Brago snarled savagely.

Sorella gave a surprised start, as if he had just woke her up from sleep. She stared at him dumbly for a moment before a slight pink colored upon her neck and cheeks, and then abruptly turned from him again.

"I am NOT afraid!" she declared, sounding most self-convincing.

"If you do not have confidence in your own abilities, you are as good as worthless."

Sorella's mouth tightened like it always did when she was annoyed. Strange that he picked up such an irrelevant quirk. He watched her a moment more, assessing her body movement, attempting to figure out what was dragging her behind. He could not have such heaviness in someone that would be fighting, especially someone who would possibly fight alongside him.

Brago gritted his filed teeth at the thought, detesting the idea of an… _ally_… as if he needed one! But Sherry grew fond of the girl, and Brago had to admit that, at times, she could be a real asset to them in battles.

The terrain became rough and rocky, and that was when Brago knew they were close. He picked up the pace, anxious to get to the battle they had been training so hard for, anticipating the enormous test of his abilities.

"Brago?" a small voice asked.

Brago didn't turn his head towards Sorella, but grunted in affirmation that he had her timid cry. He didn't much care what she wanted to tell him, and he didn't much care that she wanted some form of comfort. He would not be the one to give it.

"What do _I_ do when we get there?"

Sherry looked at her with bright blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

Sorella looked down quickly, not wanting to meet their eyes.

"Well, you said you were fighting Zophis alone…"

"We are."

The statement from Sherry was cold and final, clearly an indication that there was to be no arguments on the subject. He sighed inwardly, knowing that this would not be enough to shut Sorella up…

Sorella snapped her head up to glare at Sherry, eyes blazing. "Well, I think it's a ridiculous, foolish, and selfish plan!"

Brago stopped, because Sherry stopped. He turned to face the both of them, seeing them glare at each other like rivals. That was unexpected.

"Selfish?" Sherry hissed dangerously. "_Selfish?!_ How dare you?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Brago was expecting some kind of outburst from Sherry for a while now, just waiting for her momentary breakdown under the stress of the looming battle with her friend. This would be beneficial; Sorella would allow Sherry to get all of the distracting worries out of her system and she would have stronger heart energy to fight with.

Sorella drew herself to full height, taking a large breath, "You are so focused on doing everything yourself! If you allowed me, or any mamodo, to help you, you would have a better chance to defeat Zophis, meaning a better chance to rescue Koko!"

"I won't allow anyone to save her but me!"

"SO YOU WOULD RISK SAVING HER BECAUSE OF PRIDE?!" Sorella roared in rage, somewhat impressively. "You would allow the one chance to save her from her shackles all because you wanted to do it yourself?"

Her voice became a hiss and Sherry glowered a moment before fumbling for some kind of counter argument, yet her words were mere whispered of breath as they blew past her lips. Sorella took this moment to continue, in a softer, yet still rage filled voice.

"If she was so important to you, then why are you refusing valuable power and aid? You are so determined, both of you, to test your own strength that you're risking the chance to defeat Zophis and save her. That, to me, is useless selfishness."

Sherry hissed slightly as she turned from Sorella's fierce gaze, blonde hair flicking behind her, shimmering in the sunlight. Her fingers curled tightly around her staff, and her grip on Brago's book tightened tremendously, so much so that her knuckles turned white.

Sorella huffed and followed. Brago turned and started walking as well, expression unchanging.

"Very well, do it your way. See if I care if you allow your book to burn. Rita will be a priority, of course, but once I rescue her, I will go after Koko for you. I won't let her stay trapped because I was being stubborn and didn't accept help where it was needed or useful!"

Sherry's hand flashed out and made to strike Sorella in the face but Sorella caught it quickly and effortlessly. Sherry's eyes were wide in utmost fury, her mouth twisted into a grotesque snarl while Sorella's brilliant golden eyes flared up, mouth frowning.

Brago intervened here, pushing the two of them apart. It would not help matters if they were fighting.

"Enough of your squabbling! Stop being so childish!"

Sherry glowered at Sorella a moment longer before continuing her powerful stride along the earthy ground. Sorella stared at Brago with a jumbled expression, as if a million thoughts were ravaging her mind. She sighed heavily, looking troubled, before following Sherry, if somewhat slowly. It was as if she dreaded the fight to come, as if she hated the thought of it.

There was no need for doubt. There was no need for worry. Brago would never allow his book to burn, would never allow Sherry to be weak, and would never allow help when it was unwanted or unneeded. Sorella would just have to understand that and move on.

"Whatever is bothering you, you had better get rid of it!" he rasped, shoving his clawed hands into his pockets.

Sorella's eyes narrowed angrily but she was wise enough to keep her mouth shut… for once.

"We're almost there."

***

Kiyo Takamine's eyes widened in panic as Zatch sped off to fight in a vengeful stupor. This was not part of the plan! This was suicide! Kiyo fought desperately to build up more heart energy, all the while cradling the red book in his arms. Sunbeam shouted off a spell for Ponygon, luckily still having enough heart energy.

Kiyo watched Zatch fight back the millennium demons with courage and strength just by using his hands alongside Ponygon. It was enough to keep the demons at bay, but not nearly enough to defeat any of them! His advanced mind whirled frantically as he calculated, thought out, and imagined different tactics, different strategies that would help them out of this mess. He brain concluded that if they could just make it to the door that led to the moonstone, then they would have a fighting chance! Yes! That was the plan, that was what they will do!

Kiyo was about to tell Sunbeam when Zophis opened that painted mouth of his, whiny voice grating against Kiyo's ears unpleasantly.

"It seems the ones that were sent out have returned."

What?! Kiyo's instincts propelled his hazel gaze upward, and through the black strands of his hair, he was able to see Patty and that frog mamodo resting upon a flying millennium mamodo, both of them smirking obnoxiously. Patty winked as she ordered the call of spells from her followers, a downpour of attacks rushing towards him…

There was no escape… There was no way he would be able to avoid that attack! Kiyo tightened his grip on Zatch's book, and turned his back towards the spells. If he were going to be hit, he at least would not allow Zatch's book to burn! He would not have him lose to Zophis! Kiyo would never allow Zatch to lose his chance to become king!

NEVER!

"_Aian Gurabirei_!" a loud voice cried out.

The spells that were speeding towards Kiyo and Sunbeam were thrust downward as if an invisible hand smooshed them to the floor. Rock crackled and snapped as the spells crashed down, sending a gush of air and debris flying. Kiyo twisted around so fast he felt numerous joints crack, particularly in his back, as his eyes sought out the team he was shocked to see…

Zatch and Ponygon rushed towards them frantically, eyes wide with worry and fear. A warm sensation briefly cut through Kiyo's shock as Zatch flung himself bodily onto Kiyo.

Sherry and Brago landed lightly in front of them and Zatch's little fists came in front of his chest as a wide smile stretched on his round face. Sherry's dress flared out impressively, like a cat that puffs its fur out when wanting to intimidate. Her long blonde locks fluttered in the wind like silk thread and her black lashes framed her bright blue eyes tight with determination. Brago had his hands deep into his fur pockets, and though his black fur cloak draped down, his large muscles could not be hidden, and Kiyo saw one or two millennium mamodo eye him apprehensively and worriedly.

"Y-You're…!" he stammered, gazing up at Sherry.

She turned to look at him gently with her blue eyes. "You survived, child of the red book."

Kiyo felt a smirk stretch his lips and a sense of relief flooding through him. They had a chance! They could defeat Zophis! "Y-Yeah, you guys saved u…"

However, Sherry cut him off with a cold smile and a statement of equal chill to follow, "Sorry, but you're in the way. Would you step back please?"

Kiyo's mind hadn't quite caught up with her words, particularly after she shouted off Brago's _Reis_ spell, sending Sunbeam, Ponygon, Zatch, and Kiyo tumbling backwards unexpectedly. Sherry advanced with Brago close behind and tossed a human carelessly next to Kiyo, flinging her staff into the air, emerald glinting in the sunlight like a luminous star. It carved against the stone ground creating a straight line before them.

Kiyo actually was surprised by this, most had a hard time writing a straight line on paper, and she did it on stone, with a staff, with a gem on a wire cord…

"If you want to live, don't cross that line."

Kiyo flinched at the icy tone and felt a prick of worry as he watched the two of them turn their backs. Wait, they were fighting all those mamodo _alone_?! He made to stand up but a sudden strong hand clenched his shoulder, keeping him in place.

"Do not interfere," a woman's voice stated from behind him. Kiyo turned to look upward and saw a girl who seemed to be a year or so younger than Sherry, at least that was how she appeared, staring down at him with golden, amber eyes.

Her long, silky dark brown hair fluttered in the wind, caramel colored streaks shining bright gold in the sun. Her mouth was turned down in a scowl, as if she was displeased. Her airy dress fluttered around her long, willowy legs and a bag was resting against her hip, shoulder strap cutting cross her chest from her shoulder. The bag had a boxy look to it, as if it held a book… Kiyo's stomach clenched.

"Who are you?" Kiyo asked timidly.

"Sorella."

The answer was almost a snarl, her golden eyes drifted to where Brago and Sherry had begun to fight the millennium warriors with all the ferocity of rabid animals. They then flicked upward to where the orange haired, oddly dressed Zophis hovered above like some sick spectator, his grating voice shouting commands.

"Is that Zophis?" Sorella questioned, eyes narrowing.

Zatch looked suspiciously up at her. "How do you know Zophis? Who are you?"

She smirked at Zatch and Kiyo felt a chill run down his spine; something about her was off… something was nagging him... Sorella released her strong hold on his shoulder and rested it on her hip, shifter her weight to one leg, turning back to watch the fearsome battle. One of her toes tapped in an irritated fashion as she saw Sherry kick an opponent in the head before whipping her staff around like a whip. Brago was clawing and smirking as he mowed down opponent after opponent, with Sherry crying out his _Reis_ spell from time to time. Kiyo was shocked to see how quickly Brago and Sherry were mowing down the millennium warriors, and only using weak spells. His gut clenched all the tighter.

"So… so strong," Sunbeam muttered while Zatch gaped stupidly.

"Look closely, Zatch…" Kiyo whispered into his mamodo's ear quietly so that woman or the others wouldn't hear him. "Those are the enemies we'll have to fight someday… the wall you'll have to overcome to be king."

Sorella let out a snicker and Kiyo turned to glare at her defiantly. It seems she had heard that last bit of what he said.

"What's so funny?! And what the heck are you doing here anyway?!"

Sorella glanced down at him, smirking. "You're trying to become king? Yeah, good luck with that," she mocked.

Zatch's fists clenched and his mouth closed finally. "I will become king! I will be a kind king!"

Sorella looked at him with a piercing look, as if studying everything about him. A soft smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, a strange expression on her face.

"Zatch," she said soothingly. "A kind king is a worthy goal, but are you really ready to be king of an entire world? You are still a child and have a lot of growing up to do. To put it simply, you're not ready."

Kiyo rose at her words, glad he was tall for his age. The words, though somewhat true, stabbed him in every vital organ he possessed and pushed him to rush to Zatch's defense. "Who are you to tell Zatch he can't…"

A realization struck him.

"How did you know his name?"

Sunbeam's green eyes widened and Ponygon let out a strange baying sound, the normal method of speech for him.

"I am a mamodo too," Sorella whispered, eyes darkening in a silent threat for Kiyo to protest against her word. Her tone also suggested that she was getting irritated by confirming this, as if she said this phrase quite a few times.

"You… you are?" Zatch questioned, peering up at her curiously.

Sorella nodded, "Yeah, I gave you something that one time, remember? Something tasty."

Kiyo shook his head, "His memories of the mamodo world were all stolen. He can't remember anything."

"That's just as well, then," Sorella sighed as she turned to watch Brago and Sherry again, biting her lip worriedly.

Kiyo analyzed her expression and how her eyes followed the two very closely, how one hand was in her bag at all times, which he realized must be containing her spell book. Kiyo looked around and decided that either her Book Master was hiding somewhere, or she didn't have one yet. He somewhat hoped it was the latter because Sorella worried him a bit.

"Why are you so worried about them?" Kiyo interrogated. He found it hard to believe that Brago and Sherry would allow another mamodo to travel with them, or that they would become friends.

Sorella did not respond but as Kiyo was about to demand an answer, a human skidded beside them past the line. He suddenly noticed all the humans were on their side now, and that Brago and Sherry had been using their weaker spells… Sherry's voice echoed in his head…

"Get ready," Sorella advised him as Brago and Sherry appeared behind the line. Sherry took a deep breath…

Kiyo gasped and advised his group to take cover just as Sherry screamed, "_Baberuga Guravidon_!"

The effect was instantaneous… the rock shattered completely, as if it were erased from existent, as if it was so finely crushed it vanished into thin air. The books beside the unconscious humans flared up in hungry fire, sealing the fate of the millennium warriors trapped within Brago's ridiculously strong spell. Kiyo, Zatch, Sunbeam, and Ponygon quaked in fear as they huddled together, eyes wide. Sorella sighed exasperatedly.

"Bonjour Zophis," Sherry called out with a wicked grin.

"Wasn't that going a little overboard?" Sorella called over to her.

Sherry rolled her blue eyes. "Think what you like, Sorella, it was necessary."

Sorella smirked and adopted an air as if she was about to deliver something spectacular.

"Oh, not you, I meant Brago." Brago glared at her with red eyes, daring her to continue her sentence.

Sorella paused, as if weighing the consequences, but apparently deemed the opportunity too fine to pass up.

"Are you possibly compensating for something?" she called with a wicked smirk.

Kiyo blushed deeply, Sunbeam gaped, Ponygon looked confused, and Zatch looked idiotic since he had no idea what the heck they were talking about. Brago snarled in a warning, while Sherry's lips twitched upward.

"Now is not the time for your idiocy, Sorella!" Brago snarled before turning to face Zophis.

"How dare you do that to my warriors!"

"Zophis, where's Koko?" Sherry questioned with the effect of poisoned honey, eyes of fire not quite matching her soft smile.

"You really want to see her that badly? That being totally changed from Koko…" he simpered.

"Sh… Sherry," Kiyo muttered, feeling the tension upon him like sacks of potatoes.

"You two, leave this guy to us."

Kiyo nodded thinking it would not be wise to interfere with Sherry's wishes when she acted this way, explaining to her that once they finish with the moonstone, they'll come help her fight. Sherry's expression froze the air and raised the hair upon the back of his neck.

"No, there's no point. Zophis will be gone by the time you guys get back. You can't fight an enemy that's gone."

Sorella's hand clenched into a fist as she observed Sherry's expression, as if she was immensely troubled by it. She also dug her heels into the ground, as if trying to make herself stay put.

Zophis' jeering voice reached their ears as he sneered, "I'm being underestimated! Come on then, I'll guide you to Koko's location where we will battle."

His hand clawed and a dark aura of power seemed to cloak him like a blanket. Sorella's fists clenched as her legs trembled, and Kiyo was under the impression that all her will power was being used for the sole purpose of not going to assist Brago and Sherry. What could have happened to make her so loyal to them?

"Let's go," Sherry stated.

Brago flexed his arm and cracked his neck. "Finally, a fight with some bite to it." His red eyes glanced behind him a moment, staring at the tower in the distance with a longing expression, but upon hearing Sherry's voice, he nodded and wrapped a strong arm around her waist. The two of them sped off after Zophis, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.

"Be safe," Sorella muttered to herself. Her posture relaxed minutely as she turned towards Kiyo. "Is Zophis a man?"

Kiyo floundered, "Wh…what?"

Her expression was sincerely confused, indicating she was honest in her question and meant it.

"You all keep calling Zophis a 'he' and I am super confused."

"What makes you think he's a woman?" Kiyo questioned shrilly, standing up.

Sorella rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? He wears a dress, he has long hair, his voice is high and annoying, and the dude wears _make up_… how is he NOT a woman?"

Kiyo was about to retort when Zatch tensed in front of him. "Kiyo!"

They all turned to see a large, very large man in front of them, blocking their way to the wall opening leading them to the moonstone room. His long black hair was in a high ponytail save for a loose strip running down the side of his face. His jaw was extraordinarily boxy and his eyes were a maleficent violet. A little girl beside him with a round face and large brown eyes with short, mousy brown hair trembled beside him holding a purple spell book.

"Zophis left me behind to make sure you don't interfere any further," the mamodo chuckled.

"Who are you?" Kiyo called, dread rising. His heart power had returned, but if he fought now, the little he now had would be quickly spent. He needed that for whatever awaited him as he went to the moonstone room.

"Lance," Sorella called. "When did _you_ side with Zophis?!"

"You know him?" Zatch questioned.

Sorella nodded, pointing to the little girl, "She is my sister."

Exclamations rose all around her and she winced at the volume. She rolled her eyes. "In a _sense_; we're very close. I've been training to get stronger to find her. He's manipulating her to fight for him. Something I intend to stop. You go on. "

Kiyo gulped and didn't hesitate to follow her advice. Grabbing Zatch's arm he rushed towards the entrance way, Sunbeam and Ponygon close behind.

Lance smirked, finding Sorella impertinent.

She started forward, walking slowly. She withdrew a white book from the depths of her leather bag, where it already started to glow profusely, and energy swirling upward along her arm. Wind blew against her right side, pushing her dress and hair far off, making her seem even more set in her mission.

Though Sorella's mouth was downturned into a scowl, her eyes spoke all that needed to be said. They burned with a stunning golden light, eyebrows narrowed down to cast a fierce expression of a clear warning, a clear threat that she would beat Lance into the ground.

That she would take back all that made her who she was.

That she would set his book ablaze, that he would not break her down as easily as he had before.

That she would be victorious.


	13. Chapter 13 The Start of Confrontation

**Chapter 13 The Start of Confrontation **

**Author's Note:** _Okay, Lance showing up at the end of the chapter may have seemed sudden and out of whack, but doesn't it make sense for him to team up with Zophis, who is just as evil, just as flamboyant, and just as manipulative? In addition, Lance knows Sherry and Brago want to defeat Zophis, and Sorella is "teamed up" with Brago and Sherry. He would conclude that he would meet Sorella sooner if he was with her companions' enemy; he's conniving like that._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Zatch Bell, but Sorella, Rita, and Lance and their families… yada yada yada, are mine so don't take them? Kay? Kay! Brilliant, absolutely spiffing! : )

When I heard that wretched voice fly across the rocky land to my ears my blood hissed and boiled like a pot of water left too long over a fire. I had not expected him to be here now, of all blasted times. It was so like him to choose the most inconvenient, the most horrid time for him to interfere. Of course, he happened to appear randomly and suddenly be in league with the bad guy… Aurg! Frustration!

The power from my book was so voluminous that it felt like a warm sludge oozing over my arm, thick and extremely heavy with strength. I wouldn't fail now, not when I had made so much progress!

"Let's begin this long awaited tryst, shall we?" Lance droned, attempting to keep the glee from the prospect of beating me out of his voice. A feat he hadn't accomplished.

"You mean, let's finish, right?" I hissed, a voice containing so much acidity, that it should have burned holes into the surrounding landscape.

"_Chiododoru!" _Rita called, her eyes wide and trembling.

Black metal spike drills suddenly protruded from Lance's knuckles as if he were wearing brass knuckles that I had seen a mobster in a television program once with Sherry.

"_Amu Ramare Shizaruk_!" I returned, countering his spell with my claws. They would have more flexibility to make contact.

Silence washed between us as we stared, nothing else mattering but the moment, adrenaline pumping through our bodies as we waited to start the battle we had been dying to fight. Rita was the only sound to be heard, as her sobs came from her throat like she was choking on air. My book flared all the brighter, sensing my rage and longing to stop those tears.

I charge without hesitation, running so fast that the scenery was a blur, yet I could see where Lance was aiming and grasped one of his spiked fists in my copper clad fingers, the tips of the claws glinting in the sunlight. He aimed to strike me with his other fist but I used the grip I had on him to pull myself into the air, lifting my body so it was parallel to the ground, and pushed my clawed hand down on Lance's head. I scratched him all along the left side of his face, slicing off a thin ribbon of black hair he purposefully let out of its ponytail, and shredded the shoulder of the glistening coat he was wearing.

I propelled myself away from him before he could retaliate in a rage but I wasn't fast enough. One fist connected with my forearm, impaling the spikes into it as easily as hammering a nail into cheese. I flinched at the fiery pain from the hit as I whirled from him, crimson blood streaming from my arm and into the air like a red ribbon.

"Would you look at that," I sneered, grinning. "I had the first blow, the filthy half-breed got the pompous pure blood first!"

"Silence your vile mouth!" Lance hissed, observing the tear in his coat, unphased at all to the marks on his face. "You've ruined my coat again!"

I thought back on the again part. Now that he mentioned it, I did seem to ruin his coat in some way every time I had an encounter with him… ha, ha, brownie points for me!

"That what one would call ironic," I called, smiling casually as if this information held no interest to me whatsoever. This was not hard to do, as I truly couldn't care less about his coat.

"Don't you mock me!" Lance hissed as he flexed his arms, violet eyes glaring. "Human!"

"_Oru Frustifuori Ombra_!" Rita yelled and a black fog seemed to sweep over me like a cloud, thick and dense.

I cursed under my breath when I realized it was to block my line of sight, that my view was obstructed. What a dirt spell, though… I did have a blinding spell so that didn't make me much better…

"What was that human saying?" I asked myself. "All's fair in love and war? Was that what Sherry said?"

"This would be the latter, filthy Sorella!" Lance's voice cackled from my left.

I turned reflexively, throwing my arms in front of me to block him, but he had already broken through and grasped my thin neck in his bulky hand. He lifted me off the ground and his free hand curled into a fist. Said fist slammed into my face, knocking me to the ground with a heavy thud. Lights popped in my eyes and I spat out a mouthful of blood.

Lance was gloating over me, chest heaving with self-satisfied laughter, so I swung my leg beneath his, knocking him over. I flipped myself in an air roll so that my back was facing the ground, swinging my other leg with me, and hit him square in the chest with the heel.

_Heels weren't just for show after all_, I thought as Lance's eyes widened in surprise, the air rushing from him as if I had popped his inflated ego. I probably had, seeing as I was deeling him blows he didn't expect someone like me capable of doing.

I flipped backwards to my feet and ran in the direction of which I heard Rita crying. I thought if I could just reach her…

"HUMAN!" Lance screamed in fury.

"_Raja Neroemu Reido_!" Rita called and black fire whizzed past me, the fog abruptly ending.

I continued to run, but I glanced behind me, startled to see the flames coming from Lance's mouth. He was purposefully not aiming for me? My golden eyes widened and I spun my head around again to see that the flames were encircling Rita in black fire. I skidded to a halt, clutching my book tightly in my hand.

He ceased breathing the flames once they had made a tall, tight circle around Rita, sealing her from my access. I couldn't go in there without losing my book, or it will burn. I could drop my book and rush in there to snatch his purple one from Rita's grasp, but they would have the advantage of firing at it before I snatched the purple spell book in time.

"What now, filthy half-breed? Why do you hesitate? Isn't you precious, vile veined human relative worth more than your life, or the life of your spell book?" Lance jeered, delighted at my twisted expression.

I cursed under my breath. My mouth tightened as I heard Rita apologizing to me from behind the tall black flames, hiding her from my view. Lance could still attack me with his strength if he kept the fire going. I could still fight him with my spell book… the black flames hissed and crackled like snakes, displaying the sneaky, slithering vermin Lance truly was…

But my feet felt heavy, my book felt safe in my arms, but I couldn't tear my gaze from the flames. Blood pounded in my ears as my brain whirled desperately for a solution to the enormous wall of flame before me, desperate for an answer.


	14. Chapter 14 Explosions and Emotions

**Chapter 14 Explosions and Emotions**

Author's Note: _Sorry for the long wait, all! I wasn't sure how to go about this chapter, so I hope I did all right with it! Also, Koko just appeared before Sherry, I thought it would be dramatic to start with Sherry's reactions at this point._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell, but I did create Sorella, Rita, Lance, yada yada. Please don't take them. Alrighty? Brilliant! **

Sherry's fingers clenched upon Brago's black book so hard they turned ghostly white. Koko stared at her with cold, almost black eyes. They were eyes of nothing but false thoughts, false ideas, and false truths. She screamed in irritation as she thrust spell after spell, Brago criticizing her, glaring at her with a look that said, "It's not enough for you to KNOW his plan, but to think past it!"

_I… won't lose!_ Was Sherry's reoccurring thought.

"Sherry, did you really think we were friends?" Koko called to her, voice positively dripping with disdain.

"_ORUGA REISU_!" Sherry yelled, forcing herself to surpass Koko's words, words she couldn't possibly mean.

But in the words crept… they slithered into her ears like snakes hissing their vengeance.

"Back then I did indeed save the Sherry that had thrown herself into the river, I sympathized with you, who walked the same path of darkness as I," Koko simpered, flicking a short brown lock of hair out of her face.

Sherry growled deep in her throat, cursing Zophis for using one of her strongest memories against her…

"I also said we'd concur those awful circumstances together," she said with a tone that foreshadowed something dreadful. "But the gap between our situations was too great! You, from a famous, wealthy family, and I, who lived every day in painful poverty!" Koko screamed, face becoming twisted and slightly deranged as the two book masters continued to call spells, the energy blowing around them like an unstoppable whirlwind.

Sherry clenched her teeth, digging into her heart for more energy.

"THE CLOTHES WE WORE!" Koko shrieked, her heart power increasing by the second. "THE FOOD WE ATE, THEY WERE ALL DIFFERENT. WHAT KIND OF BOND CAN YOU FORGE WHEN THE TWO OF US ARE IN SUCH DIFFERENT PLACES?!"

Her spell book surged with power and sent Brago and Sherry backwards from the sheer force of the attack, Sherry trembling, grinding her teeth in fury. She tried to convince herself that Zophis was controlling her, that these were not the words of her dear Koko, but… Sherry had always secretly worried that her wealth affected Koko more than it let on… maybe…

_Maybe these words aren't Zophis' to begin with… _

Koko continued on and on and as she spoke, causing flashes of their past as friends to pierce into Sherry's mind. Sherry forced her eyes shut, clenched her teeth, and her fists shook as they held their objects; there was a book in one, staff in the other. However, a sliver of light ruptured the oh so carefully woven facade Zophis was creating.

_Koko… she couldn't have possibly been able to smile so sincerely in front of me had she been pretending. If she was in as much pain as she says, she wouldn't ever have been able to smile that much… _

"There's… a limit to forced smile!" Sherry shot out with venom.

Brago lunged out with claws extended but Zophis dragged Koko away nimbly. Sherry prepared to call forth another spell, seeing the brief opening that Brago's sudden attack brought, but then Koko's mouth opened and out poured words that froze Sherry's tongue.

Words that continued on and on and wouldn't seem to stop, word about the worst event besides Koko being stolen from her, words that etched a line of pain into her skin with every syllable. The thief, the necklace, the heirloom, the punishment, the treatment, the denial, the disbelief, on and on the words came no matter how much Sherry forced herself to retaliate.

"ZOPHIS! That's enough, stop making Koko tell lies!" Sherry burst out in utter rage, trying to overpower Koko's taunting voice with her own, nearly ripping her vocal cords in the process.

Koko continued in Zophis' manipulation, but even as Sherry started pouring her heart energy to call a spell, Koko's hand went into her shirt to withdraw something from its hidden depths.

Sherry froze, her eyes wide as she openly stared at the thing that had been stolen at her birthday party. The necklace shimmered in the light, reflecting its shine and the jewels glistening with beauty.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Koko sneered with a voice of false sweetness like poisoned honey.

Tears dribbled from the corners of Sherry's eyes, unable to wrench her cerulean gaze from the necklace in Koko's grasp, unable to comprehend the site of the unsurpassable magnificence of the item… the item Koko had stolen…

It was as if the ground below her turned into gas and Sherry was falling through it… she barely noticed Koko's sudden increase of heart power as she called Zophis' spell, nor the huge ball of power flying toward her.

A light suddenly flared in her eyes as Brago leapt beside her, clawed hand outstretched as he aimed his palm towards Zophis' spell, the reds in his eyes vanishing into the cloudy white as he snarled.

"_Di… Dioga Gravidon_!" Sherry choked out, eyes narrowing.

All that met her call was empty air. Sherry's heart flared with panic as she pressed her hand to the spell book's pages, calling the spell again.

"_Dioga_…" she whimpered, almost in a hopeless fashion, as if she wasn't even trying anymore, tears spilling over with more intensity.

Koko's old face, brimming with pure happiness, loomed before her as Zophis' spell erupted around her, scorching the air with heat, sending rocks flying in many directions.

_Failed… I've failed her… _

Sherry closed her eyes, not even wanting to avoid the blow, but as time drew on, she opened her eyes and noticed that the smoke billowed around her, as if something were disrupting its flow. Brago stood before her, filed teeth clenched in a savage snarl as smoke swirled off his scorched body like steam.

He had thrown himself before her and taken all the damage, even without a spell to assist him… boiling hot shame gurgled in Sherry's stomach before speeding to her heart, feeling useless and unhelpful.

"He certainly surprised me," Zophis called in his high pitched, rasping sneer. "To stop one of my highest level attack spell with your flesh and blood shows remarkable resilience. But no…" Zophis paused as his painted mouth stretched into a bloodthirsty grin. "Perhaps you're at death's door already!"

Blood dripped from between Brago's clenched teeth and injured arm, red lines of the wounds inflicted upon him because of Sherry's ineptitude.

"Buh… Brago…" Sherry started to say, but she flinched as he suddenly twisted his head around to glare at her with wide eyes of utmost rage.

His fist connected to the side of Sherry's face, sending her spiraling away from him, blonde hair swishing away from her head as she rolled on the ground. Zophis' maniacal laughter echoed across the air as Brago stormed over to Sherry, causing her to say his name in alarm.

He let out a roar of rage as he grasped the front of her dress, pulling her scared and dirty face to his bleeding, anger filled one.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Brago demanded, the reds in his eyes vanishing, alerting her to his level of fury. "BY LETTING THAT GIRL TALK TO YOU TWO, THREE TIMES, YOU'VE BECOME TOTALLY USELESS!"

Brago's words sent a jolt through her heart, their harshness stabbing at her pride, but her fear of his anger stunned her into silence, and her immense depression that she couldn't save Koko choked her from calling spells.

"WHY CAN'T YOU CALL THE SPELLS?!" He snarled, red pupils appearing in just barely a dot in the whites of his wide, angry eyes. "YOU KNOW THAT GIRL'S AN ENEMY, DON'T YOU?! WHY WON'T YOU ATTACK?"

_Because she is my friend,_ Sherry thought, before remembering that their entire friendship was a lie, causing tears to fill her eyes once again.

As if knowing the answer, Brago cursed, flinging Sherry from him harshly, standing up, and looming over her.

"Do what you want," he said, voice in a quiet sense of calm. "Stay there and cower in fear. Looks like borrowing the power of a human was a mistake in itself after all…"

The change from his roaring, shouting rage to disappointed softness frightened Sherry even more than before as she stared up at him from where she lay on the dirty ground, cheek red where her face hit a rock. Sherry preferred him shouting at her in comparison to this soft, angry disappointment.

"I'll become king," Brago said as he turned from her, walking towards Zophis, limbs visibly shaking. "On my own."

Zophis taunted Brago, but Sherry barely heard him as she stared at Brago's retreating, bleeding, and wounded back. She watched as he clenched a fist and punched a spell away from him, leaning heavily on his left leg as he walked, scarlet blood dotting the ground beneath him.

"You can't move your body as you please!" Zophis cackled, wrapping Brago's arm in a spell Koko just called, the air suddenly exploding as smoke burst from where the spell made contact on Brago's slightly grey skin.

Brago's roar of pain and anger almost shattered Sherry's eardrums since she couldn't bear to hear it. Her hand trembled as she held onto his black book, staring with wide eyes as he bore his teeth at Zophis, charging at him.

Sherry forced out a spell as her heart flooded in terror, blending in with the darkness there, trying to do something to alleviate his suffering.

Again, all that accompanied her voice were the echoes in the air, no spell, and no assistance. Her lips trembled as a thought coursed into her mind out of desperation, flinched as Brago's torso was hit severely with an attack spell, sending him to the ground once again.

"ZOPHIS! The book! Please burn the book! Don't attack Brago anymo…" Sherry begged, but Brago's raspy voice cut her off.

"SHERRY!" he yelled loudly, but it almost immediately switched to quiet contemplation. "What your tenacity chased after… the things you believed in… were they things that those words could destroy?!"

Sherry flinched in surprise, but before she could reply, Zophis had Koko call forth another spell and blasted Brago who braced himself firmly to the spot before Sherry, the spell not reaching her or Brago's book.

A voice suddenly seemed to echo into her murky thoughts, clear and pealing like a morning bell to wake up to. The wooden ring on Sherry's finger splintered, sending her mind reeling with thoughts and memories she had forgotten; memories she hadn't thought on for years.

Of course, it was as if Sherry had been in a room full of black mist when suddenly, a bright lantern of white light could be seen. The darkness in Sherry's heart seemed to melt away, and she could feel the warm flow of heart energy building.

The smoke swirled away from Brago's body as he panted heavily, the results of fighting without spells taking a toll on his composure.

Zophis chuckled tauntingly, toying with Brago by firing his weaker attack spells. Sherry's eyes narrowed as her book flared with light. He would regret not finishing Brago off when Zophis had the chance.

"Brago! Hand in front!" Sherry yelled as Zophis' new attack came at them. "_BABERUGA GRAVIDON_!"

The ground seemed to compress into nothing along with Zophis' now mangled looking arm.

"My beliefs… were correct," Sherry panted to Brago's back since he hadn't turned to look at her.

Confidence flooded through Sherry's body and didn't falter, even when Zophis flew towards them, surprising them with his speed. His eyes caked with makeup were glowing with color and fury as he attacked them swiftly, though Sherry and Brago countered his attacks.

Until, that is, the _Rondo Radom_ wrapped around Sherry's left leg, scorching the white boot to black, feeling like she wouldn't be able to walk on it. Sherry cursed in her mind, angry that she had sustained such a hindering injury, and when Koko was SO CLOSE!

"Sherry," a raspy voice called to her, catching her attention. "Everything you've done, you've done for this moment," Brago told her, his face for once not glaring, but looking at her with an almost tranquil expression.

_For this moment_, Sherry thought, a memory of Brago training her popping into her head.

_For this moment_, the thought came again, followed by Brago's voice criticizing her.

_For this moment! _Sherry thought, passion searing in her veins from her determination to win, making her body move all the faster as she avoided Zophis' attacks. Koko's pleading, desperate voice reached out to Sherry, whether a reality or just Sherry's imagination, it didn't matter.

_I will be the one to save you this time!_ Sherry yelled inside her head, while her actual voice yelled out, "_AIAN GURABIREI_!" Sherry's body fell to the ground from finally being hit by something, but her hold on her book didn't relinquish, pouring in as much energy as possible.

Zophis was flung to the ground, the weight of Brago's attack squashing him flat. Zophis, out of desperation, called out to Koko, "The necklace! Show her the necklace!"

Sherry ignored Koko's voice as it yelled out to her under Zophis' manipulation. Now that Sherry took an unclouded, unbiased look at the necklace, it appeared not authentic to her. It was just another of Zophis' false elements.

"It seems like a fake to me," Sherry muttered, remembering the truth of the sentimental earrings and rings Koko had made herself.

"A fake?!" Zophis screeched in his irritating voice grating on Sherry's nerves. "Don't screw with me! I made it down to a tee with the memory I extracted from Koko…"

Zophis' voice trailed off as his eyes widened in horror and multiple beads of nervous sweat dribbled down his face. Brago smirked tauntingly.

"You must be getting pretty desperate, Zophis," he sneered in his gravelly voice. "Revealing your tricks like that."

"Zophis, you cannot understand a person's heart! It's totally impossible for you to completely manipulate a person's heart!" Sherry screamed, heart energy increasing.

The tossed the cord of her jeweled staff towards Brago and he bit on it hard between his sharp teeth, holding it up so Sherry could fall down into the cliff to catch Koko, but also yelled with all her might a spell that blasted from Brago's palm, nearly erasing Zophis completely.

Koko's warm, soft body was held in Sherry's arms and she felt a sense of utter contentment, of pure peace fill the spacious hole in her heart that had appeared when Koko left. Tears streamed from Sherry's blue eyes as she looked at Koko, her sleeping face, calm face, and Sherry then knew that all she had done until then was for this moment right here.

And it was then she knew it had all been worth it.

* * *

Sherry turned from where her head had been weeping on Koko's chest to look over at Brago as he glared up at the helicopter landing beside them. Sherry was filled with shock and happiness at the moment, overflowing with surprising bliss at Brago's previous words, words that freed Koko from her misery forever.

She looked up at Brago, hoping he would look back at her. He did. Sherry smiled gratefully, trying to pour all of her heart into that smile, all of her joy, and all of her thankfulness to him as well as her determination that he should win this battle for kind.

Sherry guessed he got the message, because he turned abruptly away from her and forced himself to not look at her again. He went to sit in the helicopter to wait, though what for Sherry didn't quite know. She guessed it might have been to wait for Sorella, or maybe to see how Zatch had fared.

Then, as if in answer to her mind, Kiyo and his group could be seen rushing towards them. Zatch had a wide grin on his face and some of his little friends exclaimed in shock at seeing Brago, as if he were some big celebrity.

Sherry stifled a chuckle at this, deciding to spring it on him on a later date, when he least expected it.

She leaned heavily on her staff as she complimented Zatch on his newfound strength, strength she could see just by looking into his eyes. Kiyo beamed proudly but seemed also to be trying to hold it in without much success.

Suddenly, Brago's raspy growl of a voice could be heard on the air.

"Where's Sorella?" he questioned, red eyes scanning over the group.

Sherry only just realized she didn't see Sorella with them, then grew worried.

Kiyo looked up in surprise.

"She's not back yet?" he asked.

"I would have thought that her battle would have ended by now… it's been a long time…" Megumi murmured nervously.

Sherry felt her heart plummet to her stomach, now gurgling with nervousness. Battle? She gasped, then hobbled quickly over to Kiyo, grasping the front of his shirt.

"Her opponent, what did he look like?!" she demanded, blue eyes narrowing.

Kiyo's eyes widened in shock for a moment before saying, "It was over there," Kiyo said, pointing a good distance away. "He had long black hair, purple eyes, weird way of talking."

"His coat was really pretty, too!" Zatch added.

"Brago!" she said, releasing Kiyo.

Brago nodded as he held a hand out to her, helping her into the helicopter.

"Good bye, and get home safely!" Sherry called, casting them one final glance as the helicopter moved into the air. "Damn… what a time for my leg to be like this…"

"Don't be so worrisome," Brago grumbled from where he sat beside Zophis.

Sherry looked over at him questioningly. What was he talking about? What did he mean? Why didn't he feel the nervous bubbling, why wasn't he ready to rush from the plane to find Sorella?

Without looking at her, Brago snarled, "She won't lose."

Author's Note: _Since this section (Sherry and Brago's battle) in the manga was sooooo super long, I had to summarize a bit since there was so much detailed dialogue and I didn't want this story to be an exact copy of the manga with just my own words put in. I want this to be both honorable to the manga, but also original too, so sorry if you were confused or anything! ^_^ _


	15. Chapter 15 A Surge of Power

**Chapter 15 A Surge of Power**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Zatch Bell, but I created Lance, Rita, Sorella, Rita's mom, and all that jazz, so please don't take my original charries! Please and thank you, salt and pepper, hugs kisses, all that awesomeness!**

My knuckles turned white from how tightly I held my book, how desperately I clung to it. My feet seemed trapped and unable to be moved, no matter how desperately I wanted to. My golden eyes reflected the black flames like shimmering mirrors, no doubt reflecting the sickening, selfish fear I also felt in my heart.

Lance's mad laughter echoed through the air and over to me, something that made my stomach churn.

"That's how it's going to be, eh, filthy Sorella?!" he cackled.

Rita started crying in earnest now as Lance enclosed her further in the swirling fire. His own book wouldn't burn because it was his own spell, but Rita… Rita was fragile.

"Your vows to protect your _dear _sister were empty!" his voice sneered, dripping with utmost disdain.

My teeth grit against each other as my emotions fluctuated. I could see no way for me to get to her without my book burning! If I tossed it aside to run into the fire and get Rita out from the center, Lance would manipulate her to call a spell and burn it before I even grabbed so much as a finger.

I could put my book into my bag and hope it wasn't burned, but there were many flaws in such a reckless act, and now wasn't the time for me to stop thinking.

If I threw my book over the flames and tried to push Rita out from the center and try to grab my book before it fell… no, WAIT A MINUTE! This wasn't some crazy insane TV box program! Things like that only happened in books, stories, and other such literary or visual nonsense!

And yet…

Rita's sobbing felt like ice was drowning me from the inside… like I was suffocating in the cold, devastating despair at her pain because I was rendered useless.

My grip on my book tightened as my eyes flared up with emotion.

"No…" I said quietly, catching Lance's attention. "I'm not…"

My book started to glow with white energy, my heart growing steadily stronger. Lance's violet eyes narrowed in suspicion, thick, knobby fingers curling into fists.

"I'm not useless!" I vowed, the energy rolling higher and higher into the sky as if it were trying to reach the clouds. "I…I'm…" I snarled, clenching my teeth.

"Poor Sorella, upset that her dear sister will die because she was too weak to stop me herself!"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH," I hissed with such venom that Lance flinched.

White light erupted like a geyser from my book and even my own body, twisting and whirling around me like a tornado, chunks of stone crumbling from the surrounding area, boulders cracking, so great was the energy.

The very air seemed to hiss and sizzle, like a ferocious feline warning an advancing enemy that they had better stay away or risk getting clawed.

"I…" I said, my fist shaking as the tornado of white light expanded all the more, associated with the gaining of a new spell.

Rita's face erupted before me like the sun, face stretched into the warmest smile.

"WILL PROTECT YOU!"

White light seemed to explode through the area and I opened my book to the new spell before crying in my loudest voice, "_Oru Ginisuza Ganreizu_!"

White lightning seemed to crackle and fizz around my body, my long, dark hair whipping around my face, the ground cracking beneath my foot as I took a step towards Lance.

"What?!" he said in surprise, shielding himself from the highly pressurized energy pouring from my very being.

I darted forward, nothing but a blur, almost vanishing.

"HUMAN!" he called, but it was too late.

I reappeared behind him in mid air, extending my finger towards him as if containing all the power of Heaven itself. White lightning cracked from my fingers into a solid bolt charging into Lance's body through multiple points.

Lance cried out in agony as his body shook from the lightning coursing through him, falling to the ground in a bleeding heap.

**White lightning seemed to envelop my body like some shield; fizzing and crackling off my skin like a horde of angry cats waiting in anticipation for a brawl. It occurred to me that this was an assisting spell, as well as an attack spell, because I could feel the surge of energy through my limbs. **

Upon seeing Lance stubbornly force himself upright, chest covered in multiple wounds, I pushed off with my feet and found that by concentrating some of the energy to my feet, I could move with blinding speed.

A malicious smirk crept upon my face as I charged at Lance, vanishing from his violet gaze in mid-step.

Lance spun around to see me swinging my arm around, lightning whipping in the air like a crackling whip, from mid air where I hovering over his head. I swung the whip of lightning down upon him, running it right through him in the shoulder. Lance crumpled to the ground in pain, allowing the spiraling black flames around Rita to dim slightly.

For added measure, and that I also just wanted to, my leg, sizzling with the white lightning, swung out towards Lance's face, casting off a massive wave of white lightning. He spiraled away from me, colliding multiple times, stone cracking, and ricocheting into the air from where his massive body dislodged it from its place in the ground.

I flipped myself in the air, directly over him, teeth bared in a savage snarl as my fist gathered the lightning from the rest of my body, concentrating it to a massive source. I thrust my fist towards him, the lightning swooshing off my arm like a fist of its own. It crashed into Lance's square frame, crushing him into the ground.

I darted towards Rita, leaving behind a trail of exploding rock and debris as my lightning tore against the ground I was standing on, dust swirling after me like some absurd comet zooming across the sky.

I directed the lightning to come off my right hand, the other holding my white spell book, so that when I submerged myself into the inner circle, I could grasp Rita without harming her.

My heart panged when I saw she was huddled in on herself, thin arms wrapped protectively around the violet book she had been forced to use, crying. Her dirty face had streaks of clean skin where the tears had run their course over her cheeks, pushing the dirt away in their wake.

My hand trembled as I reached it towards her, stomach curdling. She flinched when she felt my touch on her shoulder, turning wide, and panic stricken, brown eyes towards me. I felt my throat clench as I saw the black vein in her temple throb and her mouth open to call a spell.

"Forgive me," I said to her, slapping her across the face with the back of the hand holding my spell book, while using my other hand to knock the violet book out of her feeble hands.

My lightning fizzed over the violet spell book like thorny vines entwining around a building, sending another massive wave over to where Lance struggled to his feet, wanting to fully defeat him.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Lance screamed as the attack overwhelmed him, the white lightning erupting into the surrounding area like a ripple of wind.

Rita let out a shocked exclamation as his violet book burst into flames, the pages curling and withering like dying flowers.

The black flames dispersed almost immediately as his book burned, and the throbbing black vein in Rita's temple seemed to be slowly fading along with Lance.

I stared with an almost comatose expression at the burning book, stopping my spell.

_I won… I beat him…_

A huge smile spread over my face as I turned to Rita with soft and wet eyes.

"Rita…" I said in a constricted tone.

Rita rushed at me, her thin, frail looking arms wrapping around my torso and burying her sobbing face into my stomach.

"You're okay!" I cried, pressing my face into her hair, hugging her as if I was afraid she would vanish in a puff of grey smoke.

"I was afraid… you would lose! And I wouldn't… see you again!" Rita cried, hugging me tighter. "I didn't think… you would be with me anymore! You… you're not mad, right? About all the bad things I did? You still love me, right? "

"I could never blame, nor hate you!" I told her, pushing her away from me as I knelt down so I could stare at her right in the face, cradling her own with my hands, loving the fact that I could touch her at last.

I felt my heart swell with happiness and heard a faint sound of an approaching helicopter in the air, though that didn't concern me at the moment.

"So you still love me?" she asked in a small voice, her fingertips lightly tracing my facial features, as if committing them to memory by their touch.

"Always, Rita!" I sobbed, kissing her face repeatedly. "Always!"

Author's Note_: (tosses confetti) I had a lot of fun in this chapter, and I hope that it turned out in words the way it turned out in my head! Sorry it took so long, but I would REALLY like reviews for this chapter in particular since I was worried that it didn't flow as well as I would have liked! Thanks for reading, and don't worry, I will write more chapters and stuff, even though this arc is done with! So more fun times with Sorella, Brago, and Sherry ahead! ^,^ Whooo hoooo!!!!!! _


	16. Chapter 16 Memories

**Chapter 16: Memories**

**DISCLAIMER:** **I don't own Zatch Bell, yada yada, but I do have Sorella, Lance, Rita… all that jazz, so please don't take them. ^_^**

Brago and Sherry arrived just in time to see Sorella cast off the major spell and to see Lance's book flare up in bright flames.

Sherry smirked when she heard Brago "humph" in approval as the helicopter landed.

"She did well," Sherry said, impressed.

Brago's reply was a scowl, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smirk at the last minute.

"If she lasts long enough, we may fight her," Sherry said, as if reading Brago's thoughts.

Brago's filed teeth were revealed as his mouth stretched into a wider, almost vindictive grin.

"That should be interesting," he growled.

Sherry held a hand to her head to stop her yellow locks from flinging all over the place as the helicopter blades slowed down, sending whirls of wind about them.

"Sorella!" she called, hobbling over as fast as she could with her crutch. "This must be Rita."

Rita blushed as she grasped the folds of Sorella's dress, nodding shyly. Sherry smiled warmly at her, blue eyes full of happiness that Sorella got what she wanted also.

"This is a joyous occasion; Koko is returned to me, and Rita is with you."

Brago lurked in the background, trying to remain distant, though he constantly glared with red eyes at the slowly vanishing Lance.

Sorella nodded, golden eyes brimming with contentment.

"That makes me happy!" she laughed, gently tugging Rita from behind her to be in front of her, placing her hands comfortingly on the small girl's slender shoulders. "This is Sherry, Rita. She's… kinda helped me…" Sorella explained a little grudgingly, as if not liking to admit she needed help in the first place.

Sherry smirked as Brago sneered in his deep rasp, "Kind of? You were practically as helpless as a fledgling."

Sorella shot a venomous glare at him.

"Was not!" she denied.

Brago huffed, "Lying to yourself adds onto your pathetic demeanor."

"SHUT UP!" Sorella snarled, waving a fist in the air at him. "Don't be such a mood killer!"

"If anything's going to be killing this…" Brago scoffed here. "_Pleasant_ atmosphere, it would be the sound of your pointless screeching."

"You're lucky my sister is here, or I'd…!"

"Oh, I'm so full of gratitude…" he growled in a monotone voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sherry grinned as Sorella stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, what are you planning on now, Sorella?" she asked, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind one ear.

Sherry cringed inwardly as she felt her locks, disliking the mucky, dirty feel of it. Ah well, there would be time to clean up after Koko was taken care of.

Sorella patted Rita's head affectionately.

"I'm going to take her home and then we can have a fun girl's day!"

Rita beamed at Sorella, warm brown eyes wide as she looked at her, but looked away again, blushing.

"Really?!" she sighed excitedly.

"We can play that game of Monopoly we never got around to!" Sorella laughed. "I've gotten pretty good at it with Sherry's help!"

Rita nodded in agreement, her short brown hair bouncing as if reflecting her inner happiness.

"Now that you're free of that guy," Sorella told her, jerking her head in the direction of Lance's vanishing form. "We can be happy again! You won't have to worry about him anymore!"

Rita's lip trembled a moment as she glanced away, not meeting Sorella's eyes, nodding in a nervous, fidgeting manner.

Sorella felt the urge to hug her, but thought better of it. Instead, she turned to Lance, smirking.

"I'd smack you upside the head as interest, but I think the fact that you're beaten is enough of a blow!" Sorella laughed as she turned back to Sherry and Rita, ready to blot Lance from her memory for good.

Lance, rather than curse them senseless, started laughing. Sorella turned to him, glaring.

"What's so funny?"

"You think you've won?" he chuckled, boxy chin jiggling like Jell-O. "You think you've _beaten _me?"

Sorella rolled her eyes before sighing, "Uh, yeah, _kinda_. Your book's burning, mine's not; I consider that a victory."

"STUPID SORELLA!" Lance jeered. "You think things will be happy now? You think poor, innocent Rita will go back to her previous life as she was before?! You've not noticed it!"

Sorella's golden eyes narrowed as her grip tightened reflexively on Rita's slender shoulders.

"She can't look you straight in the face! She's ashamed of herself, she can't stand the things she was forced to do while under my manipulation!" Lance crowed, loving the despair he brought back onto Rita's face upon reminding her.

"Shut up!" Sorella barked, irritated now.

"I'll tell you what!" Lance laughed, eyes gleaming with malice. "I'll be generous! I'll do you a favor! I'll delete and erase Rita's painful memories of this battle!"

Sorella's eyes widened in shock, but also in terror. There was something about that gleam in his eyes that sent a chill down her spine.

"ALL OF HER MEMORIES!!!!" Lance cried out, making Sorella fully understand.

"No!" she yelled out just as Rita's hand went to her left temple, the black vein there suddenly withering and crumbling away.

"She won't remember a single thing about the battle; she won't remember you at all! It will be like you never existed!" Lance cried out with vindictive pleasure.

"Rita! Don't forget me!" Sorella said desperately, turning to face her full on, holding Rita's face between her hands. "Don't forget me, don't forget me!"

Sorella called to her as Rita fell to the ground, chocolate brown eyes wide with fright as she desperately clung to Sorella's arm, trying to hold onto the memories quickly fading from her mind.

"I... can't... keep them..." Rita gasped as the last bit of recognition slipped away as well as the consciousness when Rita's eyes fluttered closed, breath becoming slow and steady like she was sleeping.

"Rita... Rita..." Sorella murmured, shock paralyzing her body.

"Poor, filthy Sorella!" Lance called to her, now almost completely vanished. "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?! Your dear sister is free from her pain and suffering, free from a life guaranteed to be wracked with sorrow!"

Sorella tore herself from Rita's side and ran at him with a raised fist, fury blazing in her face. She swung her fist down upon him, though it went right through his body, leaving nothing but a large crater in its wake.

"Stupid Sorella..." Lance said with a malicious pleasure, the last bit of him disappearing into nothingness. "You've won, but you've also lost!"

Author's Note: _DON'T SHOOT ME!!!!!!!!! (sobs) Don't give up on this, I swear, the story will get better! (holds up a shield for protection with the picture of a cute kitten on it) You wouldn't hit anything this cute, right?! (waves shield frantically as a mob of angry people swarm around her with torches and sporks (they couldn't find pitchforks in such short notice) _


	17. Chapter 17 Vanishing Light

Chapter 17 Vanishing Light

**Disclaimer:** _**Zatch Bell is not mine, but I created Sorella, Lance, Rita, and all those cheese and potatoes, so please don't take my charries! Much obliged! Also, take no particular note of the cheese and potatoes comment, I was in a random mood, and felt that I was repetitive with "all that Jazz" so I made up some new phrase! XD**_

Sorella pounded the ground repeatedly, enlarging the crater with each hit, her teeth clenched together in a snarl.

"Damn it... damn it... DAMN IT!" Sorella shouted with every punch, but abruptly stopped.

Sorella's fist trembled in mid air before falling limply to her side as she rose unsteadily to her feet, almost stumbling back to Rita like a sleepwalker.

Sorella stared at Rita as if starving of hunger when she fell to her knees at Rita's side, grasping her hand, holding it to her face as if releasing it would send her hurtling into a bottomless hole.

Rita's face seemed so peaceful, so relaxed... but Sorella felt that if she stared a moment longer, then she wouldn't have the strength to look away.

Sorella mumbled an address to Sherry, eyes never moving from Rita's face.

"Why do you want to go there?" Sherry asked.

"That's Rita's home... I would like to take her home."

"But Sorella!" Sherry exclaimed. "We can try and bring back her memories by talking to her, we can…!"

"Sherry," Sorella said in a voice unlike her, making him stop talking. "Please."

Sherry hesitated once, but nodded, the three of them (four if one counts Sorella carrying Rita) heading towards the helicopter. Sorella, normally scared to death of human contraptions, especially flying ones, didn't seem to take note that she was in one, and didn't burst out in grumbled annoyance at having to use such an atrocity.

Sorella climbed upon the helicopter, not much paying any attention to anything around her but Rita's face. Sorella held Rita close to her, as if her life depended on it, knuckles going white from the ferocity of Sorella's grip.

The entire length of the road trip, Sorella hadn't said one word, nor did her golden eyes leave Rita's face, even as the helicopter shuttered to a halt upon an open space near a condo like house surrounded by a wooden fence and flowers. The home rested beside a small forest and was the first in a long street of other condominiums. Children were riding their bicycles and playing tag down the street, the perfect scene of peacefulness.

Sorella carefully slid from her perch on the helicopter seat, arms full of Rita's limp, sleeping form.

"I think you should be careful, Brago," Sorella suggested as she jerked her head towards the kids down the street before they saw him glaring with all his magnificent, intimidating powers. "Also, you being shirtless isn't exactly helpful."

"Humph…" Brago said before he and Sherry (Sherry somewhat slowly seeing as her leg was still injured, and Brago still carrying Zophis' book as a precaution) followed Sorella as she walked towards the home like a person going to a death sentence.

Sorella paused as they reached the doorway, heart pounding with regret and fear, but then she raised a heavy hand to knock on the door.

"Coming!" a voice called from inside, the person within fumbling with multiple bolts and locks. "Can I help... you..." the woman in the doorway said, voice trailing off as she took in the scene before her.

"Christina," Sorella greeted with a forced smile.

"Rita!" she exclaimed, about to rush at them, but Sorella stepped backwards from her.

Anger flared in Christina's eyes for a moment, but Sorella explained right away.

"There's a lot you need to know first," Sorella said. "Can we come in?"

Christina turned to Brago and Sherry as she heard the "we" and had just then noticed they were there. Her mouth turned down and she gave a disapproving sniff when she noticed he was a demon.

Sorella frowned as her eyes narrowed.

"We both will be coming into your house, because if I hadn't met Brago and Sherry, I may not have saved Rita, she would have manipulated for a lot longer than she was, and would have suffered. Remember that," Sorella said, roughly shoving past Christina, followed closely by Sherry and Brago.

Sorella walked down the hall, alone upon her request to Brago and Sherry, to the room she knew was Rita's. Sorella set Rita on the bed tenderly, gaze lingering as long as she could make it before reentering the living room to explain the special circumstances.

Sorella walked back into the living room to find Christina standing in the middle, looking almost like a crazed addict going through withdrawal.

"You'll be able to see her soon," Sorella said with a forced smile, though it came out more like a grimace. "She may look a little batter, but her injuries aren't bad. I'm sure you'll be able to cover it up with some kind of story when she's awake."

"What happened?" Christina asked in a quiet voice.

Sorella's golden eyes tightened as she said, "The mamodo controlling her, Lance, when I set his book on fire, in a one last effort to hurt me, erased Rita's memories."

Christina's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes, eyes so similar to Rita's, in shock. Sorella's fingers curled into fists in an effort to calm herself against the raging emotions in her body.

"Rita, when she wakes up, won't remember anything about the mamodo battle, anything about Lance or the things he forced her to do, the people she was forced to hurt, or..." Sorella trailed off, voice going quiet.

"She won't remember you?" Christina finished, hands lowering slightly.

Sorella nodded, "Yes. Any of the conversations through the mirror we had, anything that I ever said to her, anytime she saw me... nothing will be remembered now."

An awkward silence fell between the two, and Sorella guessed it was because Christina wasn't sure how to process this information. Christina had always blamed Sorella for Rita's abduction and had wished that Rita and Sorella had never met, but something in Christina's brown eyes made Sorella think that she didn't want things to turn out like this.

"Sorella..." Christina stared to say, but Sorella forced a kind smile.

"No need to say anything. Rita's safe, that's all I really wanted!"

Nevertheless, her words seemed to echo the silent pain in them, because Christina stepped over to a drawer and pulled a golden bracelet from its depths, walking over to Sorella.

"Rita, before you came here, made this for you, as a welcoming present. She never had a chance to give it to you because of... well..." Christina's voice left off there. "I don't think I can fully like you again, Sorella, not after all that's happened, but..."

Christina took a tentative step, hesitated, but then hugged Sorella. Sorella's eyes widened in surprise, feeling the sincerity in the hug and the warmth of Christina's words.

"I never wanted things to turn out this way, she's so important to you," Christina mumbled into Sorella's neck. "You must be in pain. Rita would want you to have this... _I_ want you to have this."

Christina pulled away, putting the bracelet into Sorella's hand. It was braided with three strands of different kinds of gold chains and from the bracelet were little things dangling.

"Rita made it herself," Christina pointed out. "All but the bracelet part, but the charms... this one she made from wood because it looked like chocolate," she said, pointing to the Hershey bar charm.

"This one she found a square button and painted it white for your book. And this one she chipped away at a red rock she found to make a heart, and then she took all of the Monopoly game pieces and turned them into charms, putting them on the bracelet. And this one..."

Christina pointed to a heart shaped locket, opening the clasp.

"She picked this out especially from the jewelry store on the same day she picked out the bracelet."

The locket had a picture of Rita and Sorella laughing at something in the miniscule windows.

"You didn't notice me take that picture since you two were having such a good time. It was from the first night you showed up," Christina explained at Sorella's confused look. "That night that he showed up too... but, I want you to keep this, Sorella. You gave me my daughter back at great cost to you."

Sorella blinked back tears as she clipped the bracelet over her wrist, smiling softly.

"Thank you, this means a lot," Sorella said sincerely. "I... uh, need to go check on Rita and say good bye, if that's okay."

Christina smiled. "You don't even need to ask."

Sorella nodded, turning around and heading back to Rita's room with heavy footsteps. Brago waited until Sorella was out of site before turning to Christina.

"Filthy humans like you make me sick," he growled, red eyes vanishing into the white, surprising both Sherry and Christina. "You think that just because you gave her a flimsy metal chain that it will take the suffering away from her heart? You humans are such pathetic, ignorant creatures."

Christina fumbled for speech for a moment, astonished. Sherry scolded Brago, but he plowed on, as if ranting with his calm, raspy voice.

"You had better appreciate that little girl, because if you don't, I personally will make sure that you pay the consequences and suffer as much as Sorella suffered for this entire ordeal."

A dark aura seemed to manifest in the air and crept towards the quivering Christina, and it was clear that he meant it.

"I understand… I know it doesn't… nearly cover what I put her through but… it was the best I could offer!"

"And that's what's sickening, that pathetic attempt of an apology," Brago scoffed, falling silent seeing as he said all he wanted to say.

Back in Rita's room, unaware of the exchange between Brago and Christina, Sorella sat on Rita's bed, staring long and hard at her face, knowing that this would be the last time Sorella would talk to her face to face.

"I know you'd probably yell at me for this decision, but I feel it's for the best. What would be the point of getting your memories back about a sister you'd just have to say good bye to right after, never to see again?"

Sorella's voice trembled as she held Rita's hand with her free one.

"It… may not amount to much… but even if my book burns, knowing you was a victory…" she choked out. "Heh… it's funny… even though I know I'm doing the right thing, I can't help but feel this… churning sickness in my stomach… it burns like fire, almost! I guess… I'm really sad… and a little mad, too…"

Sorella paused, allowing silence to fall upon them for a moment, and Sorella used her other hand to brush away a strand of dirty, mousy brown hair from Rita's face.

"Those times where we talked in the mirror were the only things to distract me, you know. I never told you this, but back in my world, I'm somewhat of an object for harassment! Half-breeds aren't exactly looked upon as good citizens. I would have to deal with an attempt on my life almost every day… I would need to help my mother rebuild our shack of a house because someone would wreck it somehow… I would scramble to find a decent job, usually hard labor, and then get paid less than half of what the work was worth… but…"

Something crystal clear splashed against Rita's face and it was revealed to be tears gliding down Sorella's cheeks, leaving salty trails of sadness behind.

"But just as I thought I would hit the breaking point and get sick of everything, I would remember how you greeted me when you saw me! You were… probably, the only person other than my own mother who looked happy to see me! You didn't… see me as my blood normally defines me… you saw me… as someone worthwhile and someone who brought you joy! I had a reason to keep living that meager existence, that pathetic excuse for a life in those dark, degrading moments… You gave me a life… and now… though it's at a cost to me… I'm giving it back to you."

Sorella's shoulders shook as she rested her head on Rita's chest, taking a moment to sob quietly to herself before sitting upright, rubbing the tears away from her face in a hurried fashion, trying to gain composure.

"I'll remember enough for the both of us," Sorella said, resting a hand on Rita's warm cheek.

Sorella leaned over and kissed Rita's forehead, eyes closing tightly, fighting tears again, and whispered, "Be happy."

Sorella wrenched herself from Rita, determinedly not looking at her, knowing if she delayed one moment longer, then Sorella would never be able to say good-bye. She wouldn't be able to leave.

Sorella walked from the room, stopping once at the door, head turning a fraction as if about to look behind her at the small girl resting on the bed, but she snapped it back to the front before she caught a glimpse, and briskly walked down the hall, into the living room.

"Let's go, I have no more business here," Sorella said to Brago and Sherry, both of whom wasting no time in walking away.

Christina nodded, rushing to the door to open it for Sorella and the other two, and her mouth opening and closing a moment, as if teetering on the edge of speech.

"Thank you," she said to them. "I've learned... that not all... mamodo can be bad..."

Sorella smiled and said with a small laugh, "I'm a half-mamodo, remember?"

Christina smiled as Sorella walked out the front door, but then called out, "I'll be sure to tell Rita that her sister is watching over her!"

Sorella froze and looked over her shoulder with wide, golden eyes, her face framed with golden sunlight as the sun lowered beneath the horizon. Christina was crying, tears gushing down her face.

"Rita will know her sister from heaven," Christina wept. "And that though she can't be with her physically... her sister will exist in Rita's heart!"

The sun was low in the sky, not quite low enough for it to be sunset, but still able to cast a reddish warm glow over the area. Sorella smiled at Christina, tears falling from her eyes once more.

"Always!" she laughed, forcing herself not to delay a moment longer and walking down the street to the waiting helicopter, last rays of the sun vanishing as the warmth of Rita's happy look had vanished all together, leaving Sorella nothing but memories of what had been.

And what she hoped could be once more.

Author's Note: _Oh my goodness, I almost cried when writing this! Even though this segment of Sorella's journey has ended, I plan to do more with the story, hopefully all the way to the end of the mamodo battle! I wish for support, and if anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see happen, maybe a mini-adventure or something, feel free to say so, I'm welcome to ideas! Thanks if you've kept with me, and thanks also if you've reviewed, reading that you guys like my work is WONDERFUL! (gushes hearts and rainbows)_


	18. Chapter 18 Rough Assistance

Chapter 18: Rough Assistance

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Zatch Bell, but I created Sorella, Rita, Lance… all that lovely stuff, so please don't take them. **

Author's note: _Thanks everyone for liking my story so much! It makes my heart swell up when I see the emails of "favorite story alert" my story, and I'm happy you all like it! ^_^ So, as thanks, here's a bunch of cookies! (holds out a plate of cookies) _

_Sorella: You know they can't actually have them… don't you?_

_Smileyone1:… why not? They're awesome… _

_Sorella: (sigh) Because they can't be transported through that blank box computer thing, that's why! Jeez, you're a spaz…_

_Smileyone1: (glares before pulling out a bag of pop rocks and starts throwing them at the now screaming, flailing, and fleeing Sorella) IF I WANT THEM TO HAVE COOKIES, THEY MAY HAVE COOKIES!_

_Sorella: (running away) IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO HAVE COOKIES! _

_(fighting is then heard in the background before Brago stalks in)_

_Brago: Since they're being so childish, I'm going to fill in the rest of the author's note… Smileyone1 decided that it's better for her to translate the characters' emotions (scoffs, probably thinking he has no emotions for Smileyone1 to write about) if she used the third person, and that the beginning was mainly in first person for the readers to better understand Sorella. Not that anyone CAN understand that weakling… _

_Sorella: (leaves her fight with Smileyone1 to stomp over to Brago) WHO'S WEAK? _

_Brago: (continues as if Sorella didn't interrupt him) So, now that the beginning of the story is ending, and we're heading more towards the middle, the format will be in third person now, instead of first, since Smileyone1 hopes that readers now have some kind of general idea as to how Sorella's mind works from the segments in first person. _

_Sorella: This is ridiculous…_

_Smileyone1: Please enjoy these cookies! And CAKE! (pulls out cake) _

_Sorella: (flails in frustration) YOU CAN'T GIVE THEM ANYTHING! _

Sorella, the moment that Rita was gone and out of her site, realized how… blank things seemed. Her goal for so long was to save Rita, and now that she did that, what did she have left? She didn't really want to be the ruler of the mamodo world, seeing as they would hardly accept her to begin with.

Now that she thought about it, everything had revolved around Rita… the things she looked forward to, the things that she enjoyed, all usually revolved around that little girl.

_What's my reason?_ Sorella thought to herself. _What's my reason to stay?_

"Sorella?" a soft voice asked, making Sorella look up.

Sherry was standing there, looking at her worriedly, and Sorella noticed the doctors carrying Koko into the hospital. Sorella also realized that she was now in a car rather than that wretched wind chopper thing. Not that a car was much better, Sorella just preferred to be on solid ground.

"You should go see Koko!" Sorella told Sherry, putting on a forced smile. "She's been waiting a long time to see you!"

Sherry hesitated once, blue eyes troubled, before turned around slowly, and allowing Jii to lead her into the hospital. Sorella sighed, leaning back in the seat, keeping the car monster's door open in case the beast decided to attack and she needed to make a quick getaway.

"How long are you going to mope?" a raspy voice said from next to her, making Sorella startle and look up again.

Brago was glaring at her with red eyes and wearing a brand new outfit, the usual black fur ensemble. Sorella grinned, though it must have looked like a grimace.

"What else is there to do, Brago?" she asked him quietly before falling into silence once more.

Brago let out an angry huff of air from his nose, mouth pressed into a tight line. His clawed hand flashed outwards and yanked Sorella from the car monster by the scruff of her shirt collar (Sherry had given her a new shirt and pants).

"Hey!" she protested as he threw Sorella away from him, stumbling. "What are you doing?"

Brago glared at her, growling in his raspy, slightly monotone voice, "You need assistance."

Sorella's golden eyes widened as she processed this phrase, remembering him saying once before. _"YOU ASK FOR ASSISTANCE!" _

A sigh escaped Sorella's lips, not sure whether she was cheered up, or still dejected.

"What can you assist me with?" Sorella asked with a slight sneer.

Brago pushed Sorella farther away, still glaring.

"You need to leave," he said. "You think that hanging around us with that pitiful sad look on your face is going to benefit anyone? It's only going to slow me down, and I don't need another worthless girl around me."

Sorella's eyes narrowed in irritation, but before she could snap at him in response, he continued.

"Go find something else to occupy yourself!" he snarled, fed up with her melancholy attitude. "Find some new purpose!"

Sorella's eyes rounded more; she was shocked he was actually saying something that was cheering her up. She felt a new fire in her belly, something new to push her limbs against fatigue. Sorella smiled to herself, knowing what her new purpose was.

"Now get out of my site," Brago scowled, turning to head towards the hospital and wait for Sherry to emerge.

"What's your purpose?" Sorella asked him.

Brago didn't turn his head to look back at her as he growled, "To become king, obviously, you ingrate…"

Sorella stood there a long moment before turning in the opposite direction and leaving herself, book bag dangling over her shoulder.

"A new purpose," Sorella mused as she smiled a happy, though still clearly despairing, smile.

_I may not want to become king but_… Sorella thought, reflecting as she gently caressed the golden bracelet on her wrist_. A new purpose… it's a start._


	19. Author

Chapter 19: Author's Message

Author's Note: _Okkkkaaaay, so this was originally an Author's Message chapter, but then I was re-reading the guidelines to make sure I was following them since I'm nitpicky like that, and Author's Message chapters are not allowed. However, I can't just delete it, since that would mean that the chapters afterwards would be all misnumbered. So now, I'm resubmitting it as an author's message, AND a mini story! YAAAAYYYYY! YAY IMPROVISATION!_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Zatch Bell, but I did make Sorella and Rita, all that jazz. Please don't take them.

Original Chapter Content:

Hey all, this is Smiley! I just thought I would say that I'm sorry if anyone tried to PM me, because I just found out that I had it disabled! O_O I had NO IDEA it was disabled, so if anyone tried to get a hold of me, I apologize, and I enabled the PMing.

I just thought I'd let everyone know, as well as thanks so much for reading my story! It means a whole lot to me to see that people really like it and can connect, since that's what I want to do with my life! Write stories that make people happy! You guys are the best and I can't wait to write out more chapters for this story and see what you all think! ^_^ Again, suggestions are welcome, as I would love to hear your opinions since an author's readers are the most important thing!

(holds out a tray of pie)

This is for you all, because you're just so super special awesome!

Sorella: THEY CAN'T EAT IT!

Smiley: (pulls out a random spritzer bottle) No. Bad Sorella. Shush.

(fighting is heard out of nowhere and Smiley is reduced to a censured blur on the floor, and Sorella walks away holding/eating the pie)

Smiley: Thanks again!

**New Added Content: Chapter 19: Mini-Adventure! **

"Brago," Sherry asked in the limo as they were driving down a street in some city. "Are you ever going to fully explain what happened to Sorella?"

I turned towards my book master with barely visible callousness.

"Why must you insist on asking me the same question?" I rasped. "The answer is the same as it always was."

Sherry sighed as she and I both returned to our half-hearted stares out the window, me glaring at anything in site because all of it was rather disgusting to look at. The vile human wasteland barely had any trees or water to catch large fish in.

Disgraceful.

"Brago," Sherry started to say again, but I growled low in my throat.

"Sorella will be fine, stop your infuriating worrying!" I snarled lowly. "She parted ways, hopefully so she can make herself actually worth something…"

Sherry rolled her blue eyes as she twirled one of the curled hair strands on either side of her face. Worry was evident in her features before shifting into a perfect face of stone. It was more natural for Sherry to be cold and focused on the task, in my opinion.

Sherry was hard-edged, at least compared to the soft, fleshy other humans here… She kept her eyes on the goal ahead of us, often being ruthless to those in our way. I suppose that made her acceptable for a book master, not that I should need one regardless.

"She is our competition, now," Sherry said. "If you went and told her to find a new purpose, it could very well be to beat us in the competition for King."

I nodded, arms folded tight across my chest.

"That is why we should not bother ourselves with worry about the opponent," I stated harshly. "We should focus on ourselves and increasing our power."

"Agreed," Sherry responded, though a faint glimmer of affection passed in her eyes as she no doubt entertained a thought about Sorella's presence. "However, I do miss how she manages to get under your fur."

I looked at her out of the corners of my eyes, almost incredulous.

"She does not, and I do not have fur. It is merely my clothing."

Sherry allowed herself a small smile as I growled once, turning abruptly back to my glaring through the glass of the limo. Blurs of worthless humans, human objects, human facilities, and other such worthless blurs sped past as the limo drove on, no doubt to a hotel to spend the night in before heading out on the hunt for more books.

More enemies to demolish.

"My point is proven. Just the mere mention of her getting under your skin gets under your skin."

I didn't look at her this time as I growled lowly, "Be silent, human."


	20. Chapter 20 A Fire Ignited

Chapter 20 A Fire Ignited

**DISCLAIMER**: **I DO NOT OWN ZATCH BELL. However, I DID make up Sorella, Rita, Lance, blahdy blah blah, so don't take them please! I'm not sure why anyone would want a muscle tyrant like Sorella but…**

**(IS THEN BEAT WITH A LEAD PIPE BY SORELLA) **

**Just… JUST KIDDING… Sorella… (twitch twitch) **

Sorella frowned as she looked at the massive wad of cash in her hands. When had Sherry slipped her so much money? HOW DID SHE NOT NOTICE? Sorella sighed, thinking that there was no way she was EVER going to spend A SINGLE BIT OF…

Sorella froze upon hearing the pleasant chiming song of the ice cream truck monster…

Okay, I'll spend a little, she thought, dashing off to chase the truck. It was going very fast, and wouldn't stop, so, letting out a savage growl, Sorella grabbed the bumper of the truck and tugged the whole thing back towards her, using her mamodo strength.

"GAH!" the driver exclaimed, not understanding why his car wasn't moving.

He turned the engine off, and was just about to get out, when Sorella appeared before him, smiling in an overly sweet fashion.

"Hello!" she said in a chipper voice, holding out a dollar. "A chocolate ice cream bar please!"

Unnerved, the man complied with her wishes, and was just about to ask her a question when he realized she had vanished. Grumbling to himself about strange kids, he got out and nearly fainted at seeing the entire back end of his truck nearly torn off.

"Life is good!" Sorella said happily, consuming her chocolate treat.

"Tch, if destroying an ice cream truck makes your life good, I hate to see what you do to things that piss you off," a male voice said.

Sorella stiffened and turned to look above her, seeing a male face sneering down at her. He had bright, flaming red eyes and somewhat long red hair that was nothing but a tangled mess. On his left cheek was an intricate tattoo, which was repeated on the left shoulder.

He was muscular, but not nearly like one of those muscleman guys, and Sorella couldn't help but blush faintly as he stared at her. He also appeared to be young, maybe in his twenties, but in any case, his whole aura made her nervous.

"Sup!" he said, leaping down from the light pole.

Wait, he was standing on a light pole?

"What the straw?" Sorella exclaimed at his sudden closeness, flailing away from him.

"What the straw?" the man scoffed, sneering at her. "I think you mean, 'What the hey' and you're not from the human world are you? I can tell by your complete screw up of human phrases, not to mention your complete idiocy about all things technologi…"

WHAM!

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING TECHNOLOGY DEFICIENT?" Sorella damned, holding her fist over him threateningly.

"Yikes, what a violent person!" he grumbled, rubbing his sore cheek before getting up. "Just so you know, you won't be able to catch me off guard like that aga…"

WHAM!

"WHO SAYS?" she demanded over his twitching form.

"STOP HITTING ME, DAMMIT!" the man growled, leaping to his feet again.

"Then tell me why you're pestering me!"

The man shrugged, "I was bored, and you looked entertaining. I'm Kumara Bharata, by the way. A fire demon."

"You're a fire mamodo?" Sorella asked, confused and tense, sensing he was bad news.

"No…" Kumara said slowly. "I come from a different demonic world than you mamodo do. And you don't have to be so nervous around me; I don't fight women!"

For some reason, she highly doubted that. Sorella huffed, "How do you know I'm a…"

"Your book is one clue," he said, pointing at the book that was barely visible in her book bag. "Plus, you kinda just threw an ice cream truck. That sound normal to you?"

Sorella blushed in embarrassment and stalked off, but to her aggravation, Kumara followed her. He wore a teasing sneer, as if debating on an action.

"Say, aren't you gonna tell me your name?" he asked, hands behind his head, elbows in the air.

"NO," Sorella hissed, not liking him one bit.

"Come ooooooon," he whined, poking her.

Sorella snarled, waving him away, but he huffed in irritation.

"Fine, I guess I have no other choice…" Kumara sighed in a "dismayed" voice.

A swirl of red flames rose around him and he vanished, leaving Sorella in shock. She looked around for him, but didn't see him anywhere. Ah well, good riddance to that annoying creep…

"I wouldn't go thinking I'm out of your hair just yet!" Kumara's sneering voice said, making her turn around and see him standing on another light pole.

He had her white book in his hand, making her frantically check her bag, realizing it was gone. He smirked when she looked at him in rage, and he started to toss her book into the air.

"I can control how hot my flames are, so your precious book won't burn… IF…" he grinned a broader, wicked smile. "IF you make this entertaining! Thanks for the book, little girl! Get it back if you can!"

And he was gone…

Sorella stood stark still for a moment, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as if unhinged. She could have been mistaken as a life size statue save for the eyebrow twitching in fury.

Sorella's hands began to shake. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to gaze dumbfounded at the spot Kumara vanished in those writhing flames like dastardly snakes... sneaky and horrible.

"Did... did he just...?" Sorella stuttered. "THAT JERKFACE STOLE MY BOOK!"

Sorella screamed as her hands flew to her hair, which she grasped in a claw-like frantic motion. Her face twisted into an almost grotesque grimace of horror.

"Whatamigonnado!" Sorella shrieked in panic. She started running around in a circle, thinking on her feet. "Okay, calm down! Shhhhhhhh..." Sorella sighed, trying to clear her head.

"What would that brat want me to do?" Sorella paused a moment to think. "Chase after him so he could make a fool of me."

Sorella tensed and decided just then that she would chase after that diabolical demon!

"I WILL DESTROY YOU, YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Sorella called into the sky, just relishing the thought of when she finally got her hands around that gremlin's neck!

Author's Note: _Thanks to my friend Mukai-sama for requesting that I put her Fire Demon Character into my story! She's awesome, you should check out her page! Kumara's really a joy to work with and he always brings in some laughs! Anyways, I hope you all liked the chapter, and don't worry, I'll also do tidbits with Sherry and Brago but… (GRINS WITH EVIL) This seemed like so much more fun! _

Sorella: YOU THINK THAT JERK TAKING MY BOOK IS FUN!

Smiley. Yes. Yes I do.

WHAM.

Smiley: She… really is… a muscle tyrant…


	21. Chapter 21 Things are really HEATING up!

Chapter : Things are really… HEATING up!

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Zatch Bell or anything relating to it. I just made Sorella, Rita, Lance, and so on, so please don't take them.**

Author's note: _(snickers at bad joke in chapter title) Anyways, I dunno if I mentioned, but this event takes place about… two weeks after Sorella left Brago and Sherry… I dunno if I mentioned that or not, but yeah, there it is. That means that she's learned some new spells, but how strong they are… (shifty eyes) You may be surprised… (laughs behind a fan) HO HO HO! ^_^_

_Also, thanks to my friend Mukai-sama for providing me with some written material regarding Kumara's fighting style, which I incorporated into my own writing! So it's kind of a co-written chapter, so props to her! (tosses confetti for collaboration) _

"Kumara..." Tsunam said, sighing in exasperation as he watched said fire demon flip through the book. "I leave you alone for 10 minutes and you steal some poor girl's book!"

"You make that sound like that's the worst thing I've ever done," Kumara said, making his cousin roll his eyes.

"I hope she catches you. Getting a few smacks upside your head would probably help."

Kumara picked up a rock and threw it at Tsunam, hitting him square in the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"To shut you up. I don't want to get found this early. There's no fun in that," Kumara said, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Tsunam mumbled a curse under his breath, as he rubbed his forehead. "So, how long are you going to keep her book?"

Kumara shrugged, answering with a, "Depends on how fast I get bored."

Tsunam sighed, "I'll be leaving then. I'm not gonna be used as a scapegoat in this."

With a swirl of golden colored flames, Tsunam was gone, leaving Kumara to snicker slightly to himself, looking over the book with the strange language he couldn't read within. After a moment of this, he seemed to get bored and also vanished, but in a swirl of red flames.

It seemed he had gotten bored with waiting around...

Meanwhile, a very angry half-breed mamodo was grumbling to herself, followed by an evil aura that made children she passed eep in terror and hide behind their mothers.

"Dude just shows up, makes ridiculous remarks, claiming he only wants to have a conversation, steals my spell book, and RUNS away like a coward! What kind of ill mannered bimbo wants a conversation, steals a girl's bag, and then runs away?" Sorella was cursing to herself, making a few people look at her worriedly, like she was some crazy person.

She probably was.

Sorella hissed angrily, hating to admit she was near enough useless presently without her spell book, not to mention vulnerable. The very idea of a FIRE demon holding her SPELL BOOK, which, if BURNT, would send her back to her world... argh, the thought made her insides crawl like worms!

"Y'know, stealing this book isn't as fun without you actually _trying_ to find me," Kumara said, hanging upside down from a light pole. "Oh, and by the way, don't you think calling me a bimbo is going a little too far?"Kumara grinned, watching Sorella's expression turn from surprise to utter rage.

"YOOOOOUUUUUUU!" Sorella screamed as she launched herself bodily at Kumara, aiming a punch towards him.

"Uh oh!" Kumara laughed as he leapt away from her easily. Sorella's fist sent the pole crashing down to the sidewalk, cracking the cement. "Whoa, you might wanna be more careful there, girly! You could seriously injure someone."

"I WILL CRUSH YOU!" Sorella yelled as she ran at Kumara again.

However, she skidded to a halt, digging her heels into the pavement, when Kumara smirked and held her white book aloft, tossing her bag towards her.

"Now, whatever shall I do with this, hmm?" He jumped up to another light pole farther away from Sorella, bright red eyes dancing with mischief as he added, "For someone who wants her book back, you're sure not putting the effort in. I mean seriously, I thought you would figure out I have no interest in burning your book."

Said book was being tossed in the air, and the look in Kumara's eyes was daring Sorella to try to make a dash for it.

"Why the hell are you bothering me like this?" Sorella snapped, bright, golden eyes glaring at him like a demon from the underworld.

"I'm just doing this for kicks. Hell, most of the trouble I cause is for fun."The mischievous grin was back on Kumara's face."So make this interesting, girly. Otherwise I just might change my mind about burning your book."

Sorella scoffed but then an idea popped into her head. A wickedly devilish smirk stretched across her face as she crossed her arms and peered up at Kumara mockingly.

"So, you want things to be interesting, huh? Well then, why aren't you giving me my spell book?"

Kumara raised an eyebrow, "Why should I do that?"

"Well," Sorella said _innocently_. "What fun can it be to be chased by a girl with nothing more than average body strength? I mean," Sorella smiled almost sweetly up at him. "A demon with as strong a power as yours, I just wouldn't compare at all to you without being able to fight properly."

Kumara was silent, eyes slowly widening, and his longish red hair shimmering red in the sunlight, soft strands gleaming. Sorella could tell he was slightly intrigued.

"There's absolutely no possible way I could retrieve my book what with your amazing ability to vanish in swirling flames, so why should I bother at all?"

Sorella's voice was gradually getting smaller and less confident, yet her eyes twinkled with "admiration," or so she pretended. Sorella fought with every urge in her body to smirk mockingly at him right then, to not roll her eyes, and to not make a snide comment.

"Wouldn't it be a fairer fight if I could fight to the best of my abilities? Not that I would have any more of a chance at being on your level, but it _would_ be more interesting... and I could get to see more of your powers, they are _so_ cool!"

Kumara stared at Sorella, eyes surveying her every move. _Hm...Well, I might 's well take the bait. Fighting her at full strength might actually be interesting._

"Here," Kumara said, tossing the book and jumping back a considerable distance. "But I should warn you that the flames I use aren't anchored to me."

Fireballs surrounded Kumara, slowly circling around him before flying over to Sorella.

"They move wherever I will them to. Keep that in mind as you fight me," he said, dispelling the flames with a snap of his fingers.

Sorella smirked as her fingers closed around the familiar shape of her square book, relaxing again now it was in her possession. She sighed and looked towards Kumara.

"Okay then..." she said with a glare. It abruptly shifted into a goofy grin. "Bye!" Sorella waved and made to run for it when Kumara yelled out, irked.

Flames flew past Sorella's side, stopping her dead in her tracks and Kumara growled, "You wanted to fight, so we're fighting."

Sorella glared at Kumara over her shoulder. She opened her spell book with a sharp flick and said in a hushed tone, "Very well then, you fiery fool. Just don't go regretting this."

Kumara smirked. "I could say the same to you!"

"_Amu Ramare Shizaruk_!" Sorella cried as her book flared with a white light.

Gleaming copper seemed to materialize out of nowhere, almost pouring from her elbows and all the way down her skin in intricate, elegant twists and designs, finally covering all of her fingers in lethal points. White light oozed from the claws in dense power.

"This certainly is interesting!" Kumara laughed.

The air around Kumara began heating up, flames forming a barrier around the two of them. A scythe appeared in Kumara's hand, blazing with blue fire instead of the red flames he himself created.

"I'll let you attack first," Kumara said, watching Sorella carefully.

Sorella wore a sneering grin of almost arrogance. "Then you really are as dumb as you look!"

And she vanished. Kumara's eyes narrowed as he looked around for her, but then a twinge in the back of his neck urged him to turn around.

Sorella was speeding towards him with great agility, copper claws gleaming gold from the blaze of his fire. Sorella lunged, but barely made a sliver of a cut on the cloth of his sleeve. Kumara smiled arrogantly as he swerved from her claws quickly.

"Damn," Sorella cursed as she flexed her copper claws, surprised by his evasion.

"Wow! You _are_ fast!" Kumara laughed. "My turn!"

Sorella swore as she narrowly dodged Kumara's blue, blazing blade, a deadly and accurate weapon. She also cursed herself for underestimating him, thinking he wouldn't have enough brains to continuously attack her book.

**Which he was now doing.** Sorella was forced into the defensive and that pissed her off. GREATLY.

"GRAWR, you're annoying!" she cried as she called a new spell, abandoning her close range claws. "_Soruzana_!"

A long copper katana seemed to pour from Sorella's palm as she stowed her book safely into her book bag, the small opening in the back allowing her to transfer heart energy as well as keep her hands available for movement. The hilt curved downward like a fang and the guard slightly curved over her hands.

"Take this!" she yelled as thick white energy flowed along the center of the blade. Sorella leapt into the air and swung her sword down upon him, which Kumara easily blocked, but she smirked. The white energy was thrust away from the blade, smacking into him, but also sending Sorella backwards.

Her eyes narrowed, trying to see through the smoke and flames of the impact, waiting and listening for his next move, not even sure if the attack connected.

The smoke cleared, revealing Kumara in his demon form. He was six feet tall with thick, dark red fur. He resembled something of a werewolf fox, and had a long, bushy tail with matching hair. On his head were three sets of ears accompanied with piercings, and claws on his pawed hands and feet.

There was a deep cut on his shoulder, blood matting within his thick fur. With a swirl of flames, the scythe disappeared, and he lowered down onto his hands. He charged at her on all fours, fangs glistening evilly in the light cast by the flames surrounding.

Sorella stood there, very still, with quite an expressionless face as Kumara went after her in a form quite beastlike.

Silence...

"WHAT THE HELL?" she randomly exclaimed as she pulled her spell book out, ceasing the _Soruzana_ spell, knowing it would have been futile to attack Kumara with it considering his size, and the thickness of his fur.

Kumara roared and made a snap at her with his massive fangs but she quickly darted away, kicking off from his shoulder to leap behind him. She twirled around, book glowing brightly.

"FINE, YOU CHEATER!" she yelled, furious that he had another, far more powerful form... that called for a another, far more powerful spell… one she recently acquired after five days of nonstop training to get it. "_Shin Akela Inaridire_!"

White light erupted like a geyser from her spell book and almost from her very core. Sorella swore to herself in anger, furious that this guy had made her use her recent, strongest attack spell, that little mischievous creep! Oh, but would he get it!

Wolves made of white light with gleaming copper fangs and claws surrounded her, all in large size, the smallest wolf's shoulder reaching Sorella's head, and the biggest being the size of a skyscraper... not that she knew what that was just yet.

"KILL THAT BASTARD!" she roared, lunging along with the wolves towards the beast-like Kumara who grinned a canine grin of malice. He flexed his claws and his eyes gleamed with anticipation for victory.

He swiped a gigantic clawed paw through one wolf, dissolving it, and spun around, slashing Sorella on her left arm, thankfully not the one holding her book, which she tucked securely under her arm. She cried out in pain as blood streamed from her arm and into the air like a red ribbon in the wind.

In response, her largest wolf snarled with a bone chilling ferocity, clamping down on Kumara's already wounded shoulder with luminescent copper canines. Crimson blood spurted from between the wolf's teeth and its lip curled monstrously in anger that Kumara had wounded Sorella.

Kumara snarled and Sorella swung her fist backwards and pushed it towards his muzzle, punching him in the face. Kumara hissed and a hand the size of her body slammed her down, palm pressing her into the ground as the rest of her light wolves bit viciously into Kumara's blazing red pelt.

"Take that, you bastard!" Sorella hissed through her pain as well as constricted breathing. Not that she was in a position to be making smart-allecky remarks... she was extremely low on heart energy, wounded greatly, and in a position she did not like one bit.

Kumara glared down at her, upper lip curling in defiance, as if to say, "You think I'm finished? Keep up the fight, little girl! I still have more to give!"

Sorella was really getting annoyed with this "little girl" crap.

He pushed Sorella down into the street, which cracked from the pressure. Sorella coughed and lifted one hand. In a sweeping motion, Sorella guided something towards Kumara's throat. A wolf she had deliberately held back lunged towards him, aiming for the vital area of Kumara's throat. With a last, withering, foreboding look of fury, Kumara leapt backwards from Sorella and the wolf out of necessity.

Any wolves already biting him released him and swarmed around Sorella defensively. One pressed its nose to her heart and it was as if she were swallowing its light. Sorella felt warmth run throughout her veins and thanked the wolf in her heart. Her wounds may not have been healed, but because her heart energy wolf went back to her, she had the strength to stand and counter Kumara's upcoming attacks.

Kumara growled and her wolves snarled fiercely in response, snapping their maws savagely, bushy tails swishing back and forth.

Kumara shook himself, causing blood to fly off in random directions. Where the blood landed, it sizzled and melted the places it landed on. He braced himself on the concrete before letting out a loud roar. Nothing happened at first, but then the temperature began to become drastically hotter.

Heat waves formed, and soon, plants were beginning to wither, nearby cars were showing signs of slight melting, and it was as if the ground became an oven. Kumara's body temperature had soared so much, that it affected the area around him.

The claws on his hands and feet glowed red-hot, as if fire burned inside them. Kumara could see Sorella and the wolves clearly despite the heat waves, but he was sure that she couldn't see him. He could use the shimmering areas to his advantage. He crouched low, and dashed forward to attack.

On the other hand, while Kumara was completely at ease with the temperature, Sorella flinched in fear from the heat, holding her white spell book close to her chest. The air around her scorched her skin and the warm blood from the wound on her arm steadily oozed down her arm.

Sorella cursed under her breath as she heard Kumara's massive paws pounding against the earth towards her, though she couldn't see him.

"Go!" she yelled at one of the wolves, who immediately leapt into the hot, vision blurring air to smell out Kumara. "YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HIDE YOURSELF FROM MY VISION!" Sorella called out, golden amber eyes blazing determinedly, shining almost red from the light of the fire. The caramel streaks in her long hair shined golden red from the flames swirling closer and closer.

She smirked satisfactorily when Kumara lunged at her out of nowhere, but with a luminescent wolf clawing and biting and clinging to the heavy fur on the back of Kumara's neck. Sorella flexed her fingers before curling them into a fist.

"But you can't hide that stink from me!" she snarled as she ran forward to punch Kumara in his stomach, wolves howling eerily. "WE CAN SMELL YOU!"

Kumara let a gasp of breath hiss from his clenched fangs as her mamodo strength forced him to skid backwards. One or two droplets of fell from the tips of his red fur and landed on the back of Sorella's fist.

Sorella screamed in pain as the blood burned like acid on her skin and quickly wiped it off on the ground where it sizzled into nonexistence. She winced in pain as the terrible burns on her skin bloomed like flowers in the spring.

"I should have known even your _blood_ would be freakish..."

Kumara's following growl seemed like a chuckle, which caused Sorella to smirk in his direction.

"You're much stronger than I anticipated..." Sorella hissed as she flinched from the heat now warming her cheek like a fiery hand.

Kumara's wolfish head seemed to jerk in agreement, eyes gleaming of arrogance. This pissed Sorella off and she ran forward, hopefully distracting him.

"But not at all on my level!" she sneered as her largest wolf fell down upon Kumara from above, she having sent it on top of a close building.

Sorella thrust her palm out towards Kumara, yelling, "_Jiusenuga_!" a solid beam of white light charged forward like an arrow towards Kumara who was grappling with the white, copper fanged wolf now biting ferociously into Kumara's wounded shoulder once again.

Kumara's head swiveled in the direction of the beam of light and the curved hand blade once again appeared. The silvery blue metal was struck by the beam and a resonating sound like a bell pierced through the air before the beam was redirected into the open air, darting into nothingness.

Sorella snarled under her breath. _So he could use that flame scythe in his demonic form as well, eh?_

Sorella gasped when Kumara somehow managed to throw off the wolf and Sorella charged again as Kumara aimed to injure it. She darted in front of the wolf, crossing her arms over the other to take the slash from the claws rather than have her wolf injured. Simultaneously, she and the large white wolf bounced away from Kumara to join the others waiting in the back.

Sorella winced as she felt the fresh wound pulse out more blood and felt her heart energy growing weaker and weaker. But she also felt satisfaction when she saw the dripping wounds on Kumara, particularly his shoulder, left from her wolves and herself.

A bruise also accumulated on Kumara's stomach, despite the many layers of muscle. Sorella smirked.

"Well, well, well… look who got injured from the punch of a girl!" she hoped to rile him up into a rage where he wouldn't think as much through insults.

Kumara bared his teeth, pacing a bit as he planned out his next move. He limped a little bit, keeping as much pressure off of his left arm as possible. He straightened himself up suddenly, summoning his weapon with a flurry of flames. He launched an arc of flames that stretched out as it hurtled towards Sorella and the wolves. He then ran behind the arc, weapon held at the ready.

Only too late did she notice Kumara's eyes gleaming malevolently from behind, blue scythe raised in an attack. Sorella clenched her teeth as she flung her book into her bag, pressing it close to her thigh as Kumara swung the weapon downward, the blade etching a fine line into her leg as she rolled from the blade.

Sorella crouched in that position for a moment, panting, glaring at Kumara who's chest was heaving also, though not nearly as much as she would have liked... he wasn't as tired out as she wanted...

"Your appearance doesn't do you justice you know!" Sorella mocked. "I thought you were very stupid at first!"

Kumara growled low in his throat, tossing the weapon in the air before catching it again swiftly. Sorella looked around, considering... she was nearing the end of her heart power... she could stall for time, build some up… but that would only give her minutes at the most… she would need a space in which Kumara wouldn't be able to reach her... how could she be sheltered and attack at the same time?

Sorella suddenly smirked. She had an idea! Sorella took a deep breath and hoped she could stall Kumara enough while she built up heart energy. _Either way_, she thought. _Kumara will attack..._

Kumara noticed the smirk on Sorella's face. He knew she was up to something, so he decided to humor her. But he wasn't going to play along without scoring a hit. He dashed forward again, waiting to see what Sorella would do.

"_Difisa Ramare_!" Sorella said with a slight laugh as molten copper poured from her hands, a few wolves vanishing as she did so.

After all, it was unusual to have more than one spell activated. Rare, as a matter of fact... but since her wolves were basically heart energy turned solid (in a matter of speaking seeing as they were made of light), she could transfer that energy into another spell while keeping some wolves in the open.

The liquid copper, guided by Sorella's hand, seemed to wrap around Sorella's crouching form like a cloak. It encased her, hid her from view save for a miniscule slit from behind which her eyes could be seen.

Kumara lunged towards her, confident his claws would breach the flimsy looking shield.

"Got you," Sorella whispered quietly to herself as she weakened the metal on which Kumara had attacked.

Kumara's clawed hand was sunken into the thick layer of slightly weakened metal and remained there as Sorella hardened it once his hand was submerged. Sorella moved the copper behind her to encase Kumara's hand further as well as allowing her to step out of the spherical shield.

"_Forrareusen Difisiacelare_!" she yelled almost triumphantly as she slammed a palm down on the metal.

Instantaneously metal spikes shot upward and into Kumara's entrapped arm, piercing into his fur. He howled with rage while Sorella pressed on, white light from her book dimming. The spikes impaled past Kumara's thick, defensive fur and blood dribbled down the spikes, melting them away, causing it to burn Kumara's fur and melt the metal in the red strands.

"You... shouldn't be... so quick to attack, Kumara," Sorella panted with a smile as Kumara went down on one knee, growling in anger as the copper faded rapidly like her heart energy.

She was near depleted and had no more left to even call her weakest spell. But she would still attack, Sorella decided, as her last remaining wolf dissolved in the air, the copper containing Kumara somewhat weakening. She could still land a punch...

"Besides," she said in a manner that sounded as if she had been holding her breath for a while. "Both of us are severely injured. We're getting tired, and..." her golden eyes blazed. "I won't back down. I hate to lose, you see."

Kumara growled in response, trying to pry himself from the melting copper.

After a few seconds of useless prying, Kumara sighed and the temperature dropped to normal and the flames dispersed.

"I'll agree that we're both tired, but I see that little gleam in your eyes," he said, surprising Sorella.

"You can talk in that form too?" she screeched.

"Of course I can. All fire demons retain weapons and speech in this form. What made you think otherwise?" Kumara said in a smug, teasing manner. "Anyway, I digress...I'm willing to call it a draw if you are. But if you try sucker-punching me, I'll knock you halfway across the city."

Sorella's mouth hung open and then she rose very quickly, storming over to Kumara.

"What? I... I can still... fight you..." she sighed, shaking a fist, before she fell, face first, down on the ground from over exhaustion, at which time the spell ended abruptly, and Kumara shook his furry arm.

Kumara tapped Sorella on her shoulder and she half lifted her arm. "Just try to send... me... across the city... I will knock... your block off!" she said in a voice barely over a whisper. "I just... need a few... seconds..."

Kumara licked his bleeding arm. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try," he said."I'd fry up your book before you could even hit me."

"You're… annoying me…" was her tired sigh.

His tail slipped underneath Sorella, and lifted her up so that she was lying on it like a hammock. "You don't have to worry about me scorching you. I'm way too tired to raise up my body temperature that high."

Sorella's head twitched as if trying to get rid of an irksome fly at the thought of tying with Kumara at a battle. She hated losing. Sorella raised her hand and lightly thunked Kumara on the shoulder. Richard raised an eyebrow and Kumara just stared.

"Ha ha, final blow!" Sorella teased before she closed her eyes, somewhat resentfully, and her breathing turned slow.

Kumara rolled his eyes and lightly tapped Sorella's forehead.

"Did she just fall asleep in the arms..." Kumara asked himself before pausing. "Er, tail, of the enemy?"

After a moment of thinking to himself he gave up and just decided to go find a place to rest.

"Meh, she's exhausted. She must have spent a lot of heart energy fighting me," Kumara said, as he walked off.

His tail was held rigid to keep Sorella from falling. Kumara continued walking until he came to a park that was full of trees. He found a hill with a space big enough to him to fit. He carefully climbed into the space, making sure he didn't crush Sorella, and warmed up his body temperature to warm the both of them. Soon he fell asleep, the two of them resting in a peaceful manner despite the fiery battle that had transpired between them.


	22. Chapter 22 Short Stories and Revelations

Chapter 22: Short Stories and Revelations

**Disclaimer:**** Zatch bell is not mine, but I DID create Lance, Rita, Sorella, blahdy blah, all that mac and cheese. **

_Kumara: You… you're dumb…_

_Smileyone1: Bad Kumara! (inexplicably acquires a spritzer bottle, squirting said fire demon with it and rendering him unable to move and yelling out in protest) BAD KUMA-CHAN!_

Sorella had a weird dream where she was fighting a ginormous werewolf on fire. That is, until she realized it had actually happened. Sorella vaguely realized her hand was lightly clutching something soft, warm, and fuzzy.

Sorella woke up very groggy, and was very confused as to why there was an excessive about of warm fluff surrounding her. That was when she noticed she was hugging something bushy around her as if it were the coziest, warmest, and the most irresistible blanket in the universe.

She opened her eyes and noticed she was in some sort of hillside cave. In addition, her wounds were slightly cleaned and had already nearly healed; she supposed the mamodo blood in her dried them out quickly. Shifting her gaze, she saw the entrance but didn't see Kumara anywhere.

That was when fluffy and bushy fully registered along with the gentle heat in the space which should have been shady and therefore, cool. She tilted her head around and saw Kumara's (in his demon form still) animalistic head leaning on a rock like it was a pillow, lightly drowsing, and that the thing she was hugging was his tail.

Her eyes widened in gratitude, shocked he had actually taken her to a safe place to recover. She looked around and saw her white spell book, safe in its bag, right next to where she was curled up on Kumara's bushy tail.

"Wow," she whispered. "Wasn't expecting that..."

Sorella, in return for Kumara helping her out, especially after she practically sicked wolves after him, decided to let the guy sleep longer, so she didn't move at all.

She found this a lot harder than she expected, as she grew bored very quickly. She resorted to counting how many odd shaped rocks and patches of grass there were in this hillside hole!

Kumara snorted, lifting his head up suddenly. He sneezed, and rubbed his nose with his hand.

"Gah..." he mumbled sleepily. "Oh, you're up." he said, yawning."I figured you'd sleep a little longer."

Sorella watched him as he yawned again, and lay his head back down with a slight thump, eyelids flittering heavily.

"You can leave if you want..." he yawned, revealing long fangs in his mouth. "I went a little overboard in our fight, and I still need to recover. Besides, I bet you're pretty hungry."

Sorella shook her head, not quiet wanting to get up, but her cheeks were tinted with a pink color due to her embarrassing situation. She had let the enemy comfort her and aid her in recovery! What would Brago say?

Sorella slumped, looking determined that Brago would never find out about this ever, because she knew EXACTLY what he would say.

"So…" Kumara said groggily. "You're a half-breed?"

Sorella tensed, but nodded. "Mm hmm… WHAT OF IT?"

"Relax, I'm just making conversation… yikes…" Kumara grumbled, turning to look at her through one eye. "Besides, it's interesting… keeps me from getting bored. How'd it happen?"

Sorella huffed, folding her arms under Kumara's thick tail that was draped over her.

"It's a long, confusing story, and I don't wanna tell it…"

Kumara grinned wickedly and sneered, "If you don't, I'll either lick you to pieces with this long tongue or swallow you, and then spit you back out. I think that'd be mighty traumatizing."

"You will not," Sorella grumbled, glaring at him. "You'd never do it because you wouldn't get the taste outta your mouth!"

"True…" Kumara snickered. "Okay then, I'll pelt you with pop rocks like sea gulls pelt cars with poop."

Sorella gasped, looking terrified. "YOU WOULDN'T!"

Kumara's evil grin was answer enough and Sorella pouted, sulking, muttering a stream of profanities she'd learned of the human world under her breath.

"Fine.." she hissed, snuggling deeper into Kumara's fur to get comfortable. "My mother was in the last mamodo battle and…"

"Do the battles take place every 1000?" Kumara asked, making her scowl.

"YES, don't interrupt!" she snarled. "Among those in her group were the gorgon mamodo and King Bell, the current King of our world."

Kumara rolled his red eyes, sneering, "Duh, I kinda figured that when you called him KING."

Sorella forced a breath between clenched teeth, and pushed herself to continue without punching him in his animalistic, werewolfish, foxy head.

"My mom, Malina, was from one of the noble families in the mamodo world, and…"

"HA. You have NOBLE blood? Whatever!"

"YOU WANNA HEAR THE STORY OR NOT?" Sorella growled. "THEN SHUDDUP!"

"Okay," Kumara laughed. "Okay, okay! Go ahead… pfft… madam…"

Needless to say, he kinda deserved the slap to the back of his head. Sorella ignored his snarl of pain, and continued.

"ANYWAY, in the year 1010, she fought for a long time, making it to third place without a book master…"

"SHE MADE IT THAT FAR WITHOUT A BOOK MASTER?" Kumara exclaimed, wide awake by now.

"My mom's the best! She's as tough as the best blade!" Sorella replied, looking proud. "She defeated all those mamodo single handedly! Well… before… before she fought the gorgon mamodo, who had already trapped many mamodo competitors into stone. He ended up turning her to stone as well, but during the struggle, she fell off into the ocean and washed away, so he left her, thinking she smashed to pieces."

Sorella sighed here, as if dreading continuing the story, but saw the captivated look in Kumara's eyes. She huffed, deciding to continue on, even though it was long and confusing as all could be.

"Thinking she was defeated, the final two competitors, the gorgon mamodo and this kid named Zatch's father, battled and Zatch's father won, though he was unknowledgeable of Malina's being turned to stone and her book never technically burned, nor about the others that were frozen. He assumed they had all went back to the mamodo world and went into hiding, having not liked that he won. So he thought nothing of it."

"Wow, that's not very perceptive of him," Kumara commented, and Sorella shrugged.

Sorella's golden eyes grew troubles as she recited what happened next, reflecting back onto when her mother told her this story…

"Then, in the year 1910, Malina's inner energy broke her from her supposedly eternal imprisonment; Malina awakened and roamed the world, searching for mamodo to battle and her book master, not knowing the battle was over for more than 500 years. That was when she finally meets her book master, Thomas, in the lonely countryside of America."

Sorella's smile grew both sad and pleased.

"They fell in love. They fell in love over the two months she spent with him alone in his handmade cabin, and then… they found out they were going to have a baby."

Kumara smiled, "Awwww, HOW SPECIAL."

Sorella shot a glare at him, eye twitching. "Way to ruin the moment…"

"That's mah job."

Sorella rolled her eyes, but continued. "However, not long into Malina's pregnancy did Zatch's father realize what had become of my mom. He returned to the Human World, as the ruler is able to pass between dimensions in emergencies and whatnot… and…

_"THOMAS!" Malina screamed as a large mamodo appeared before her, wearing a heavy crown. "THOMAS, HURRY!"_

Thomas came fast out of the log cabin, Malina's bright spell book in his hand, a spell on his lips, brown eyes bright with determination.

"Don't worry, Malina! We'll defeat him, and you'll win the battle!"

"Win?" the mamodo asked, visibly startled. "The battle has been over for 900 years."

Malina's eyes widened. "Wh... what? No! This is 1010, the year of my battle!"

Thomas' head swiveled towards her, brown eyes in shock. "Don't you mean 1910?"

"N... NO!" Malina gasped. "I... I couldn't have been in that stone for long! Not... Not for nearly 1000 years!"

"It will be 1000 years 100 years from now. You've been trapped in stone for 900. And I've been King. I can't have anyone challenge me for the throne, Malina."

Malina's amber colored eyes widened as she lunged for Thomas, but even with her high level of speed, the King was faster, as he had 900 years to hone his skills...

Sorella's voice trembled as she muttered, "Her book didn't have a chance."

Kumara's mouth was hanging open and he didn't even make a snarky comment. Sorella's fists started to shake as she envisioned the father she never met, and how alone he must have been…

"He burned her book to ensure his hold on the throne, thus separating Malina and Thomas forever! Malina gave birth to me in the mamodo world and one hundred years later, the next competition started."

Sorella smiled a grim smile as she added, "Then it was my turn. Of course, dad remarried and had many descendents. The king was somewhat merciful to the half-breeds in the mamodo world and allowed us contact with one human relative. I talked to my dad, then to hid next kid, my sibling… and then to their child, and then their child… there was this one girl, she's roughly nine now… Her name was Rita… she was the best correspondent I had."

"Nice, big vocab word!" Kumara commented, but looked at her curiously when she didn't respond angrily.

She was instead fondling a charm bracelet on her wrist, eyes soft but sad. He wanted to ask her what happened to Rita, but he decided that if she wasn't going to say anything, he wouldn't bother. For once.

That, and he was determined to find out eventually.

"So, lemme get this straight. Your mom came here in 1010?"

Sorella nodded.

"And then, in the same year, she was turned to stone for 900 years?"

Sorella nodded her head again.

"And then she had you after going back to the mamodo world in the year 1910?"

"Right."

"And now, 100 years later, here you are?"

"Yep."

Three second silence…

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU'RE AN OLD MAID!" Kumara roared, turning to his human form as he died of laughter, making Sorella bristle angrily.

"I AM NOT!"

"You're right!" he chortled. "YOU'RE A SHE-HULK SPINSTER!"

Sorella lunged at the laughing Kumara, and the two scuffled on the cave floor, and Sorella didn't notice that Kumara was the first outsider she had ever told her story to.

She also didn't notice the warm, fluttering feeling in her heart that was accustomed to relief.

Glad she had another friend to tack onto her short, by growing, list.

Even if he was a real pain in the butt.

**Author's note:** _(shifty eyes) I don't ever recall the manga saying what year it took place in… (SHIFTY EYES) THAT IS MY LOGIC AND I AM STICKING TO IT! _

_(Then slumps over in a tired heap) Gosh… I hope this all turned out well, because you will never KNOW HOW HARD this was! IT TOOK FOREVER! FOREVER TO CONFIGURE THIS WHOLE BACKGROUND! HOURS! (SOBS) I kept flailing all angrily about how if the battle was every 100 years it would work perfectly, because I was dead set on Thomas being all southern and whatnot, and I was all, "GAH! HOW DO I MAKE THIS WORK?" and then my friend helped me out and told me about the gorgon and I was all, "HA HA!" (insert sparkles, rainbows, and happy sunshine here plz) _

_I made it work to the best of my abilities and I __**really**__ hope that this turned out. Because I want it to seem authentic and whatnot, and that I worked SUPER DUPER hard to fill in any holes in the background._

_So please review if you can, and let me know if there was something that seemed out of place, or weird, or if it just didn't seem to fit with the manga, because authenticity is important to me, but so is adding my own original twist. We don't know much about the mamodo world's culture, and all that, so I added a bit of FLAVAH to my story. ^_^ _

_But yeah, I'll stop ranting, and thanks again for always reading my story, and for those who are favoriting me in authors, or stories, and all that jazz! I FEEL GREAT WHEN I SEE THOSE MESSAGES! _

_You're all the best! Thanks for always reading!_

_Also, yet again, if anyone wants to give me some ideas if they have something they'd like to see in the story, I'll look it over and decide if I should do it! I love hearing what you guys think, since you're the ones reading! (high fives everyone) _

_(looks around for Sorella) Okay, here's some of Malina's homemade mamodo world p…(looks at empty pie pan) Wh… what happened…?_

_(TURNS SLOWLY TO GLARE AT KUMARA, WHO HAS CRUMBS ON HIS SHIRT) _

_Kumara: WH… WHAT? IT WAS GOOD AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO LEAVE SOMETHING SMELLING THAT GOOD OUT IN THE OPEN LIKE THAT! _

_Smiley: (grabs a hose and presumes to spray Kumara with it as Sorella giggles, watching the whole ordeal)_

_(Smileyone1 waves as she leaves) Thanks again, and I'll try to update soon! _


	23. Chapter 23 Conversation Combat

Chapter 23 Conversation Combat

**Disclaimer: Zatch Bell's not mine, but I did create Lance, Rita, and Sorella and yada yada. **

Author's Note: _Hey all! Sorry this took longer, but I wasn't sure what to put in this chapter. I finally decided to do some more random stuff with Kumara and Sorella since their dynamics with each other amuse me. Thanks to Mukai-sama for Kumara and assisting me in the chapter! Props to her and her epicness! (Sorella throws props around, literally, having misinterpreted the phrase)_

_Added November 14__th__, 2010: Also, in case some of you didn't know, I rewrote this chapter at a later date since I was super unhappy with it. I had a nagging feeling that I was starting to rush things even though I would obsessively read over my chapters and make sure they were nice. Still, I wasn't happy with how this one was originally, so I redid it. ^_^ I'll do my best to try and keep the story as good as it was in the beginning and not rush things as much!_

"So," Sorella asked Kumara as the two vacated the cave that had been resting in. "Now what do we do?"

Kumara hummed in thought, ruffling the tangles of red hair at the back of his head. Sorella peered at him warily as he pondered, and she suddenly became irritated at the way his red t-shirt clung to his muscular chest and kept drawing her attention.

He caught her brief, flustered glance and a wicked grin immediately grew on his mouth.

"Did you notice that I'm over the moon hot at that moment?" Kumara said with a teasing sneer. "Or were you just awestruck?"

Sorella, rather than glare at him furiously, paused in confusion. "We're on the ground… we're not over the moon…"

Kumara slapped a hand to his face in frustration and shook his head in disbelief. "Gah… you think I'm attractive, don't you?"

Sorella flushed a deep red, not trusting her mouth. Kumara smirked arrogantly as he leaned close to her face.

"What's with that silence, Sorella?" he asked.

Sorella felt her cheeks burn hotter as she tried not looking at him, but now that he was mentioning it... Sorella averted her eyes quickly, not trying to look at him because every time she did her eyes went to his chest again...

"Ahhhh!" he said, grinning like a devil. "What thought did you just have? _Hmmm_?"

"I... no... nothing!" she said quickly. "You're too full of yourself!"

Sorella spun from him, facing the opposite direction as he snickered, "You shouldn't deny these things, it's only natural!"

"Sh… shuddup!" Sorella said, already gaining back her energy from her fight with him because of this situation. "I... I wasn't thinking anything like that! Y... you're just full of yourself!"

"I didn't mean it like..." Sorella started to say, trying to cover up her previous statement, though it was too late.

"Tut tut tut, Sorella," Kumara said, waving a finger at her. "You've already gone and said so! What about me is so appealing to you, I wonder?"

Sorella threw her hands into the air, blushing scarlet, storming away from him. Kumara followed her, still intent on pursuing the subject. Her shirt ruffled around herself as she moved and her boots stomped against the ground angrily, click clacking with her harsh footsteps.

"Sorella, you should be open about your feelings!" Kumara was laughing, darting in front of her to stop her from walking farther. "It's only natural to feel them in the presence of a good looking guy like myself!"

Sorella was silent, seething, but her glare just amused Kumara.

"You... that's... shut up!" she ended up saying. "I could say the same thing to you!"

Kumara's grin widened as he said, "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

"You blushed when I'm around!" Sorella huffed, trying to pass over the subject of her admitting that she thought him attractive.

Kumara was taken aback by Sorella's statement.

"Wh-I do not!" he said, suddenly bristling."Blushing and being flustered are two _completely _different things!"

Sorella gave him the '_Haha-now-you're-the-one-in-the-spotlight_' look.

"A-Anyway, shouldn't go to some place so we don't get in trouble? I mean, people will be looking all over for who messed up the streets and stuff!" Kumara said, turning away abruptly and walking off.

Sorella leered at him as she ran along next to him; loving the fact that now, she could torment him back. Justice! Yes! Victory for Sorella!

"What's with you avoiding the subject?" she asked sweetly, golden eyes brimming with amusement as she peered at him.

They were walking down a sidewalk now full of people looking into store windows and often sighing in admiration for what they saw. Children were being tugged by insistent parental hand and dogs yapped at the ends of their leashes. Towering buildings rose around Kumara and Sorella, glossy windows reflecting the amberish light of the sun high in the sky. Conversations flitted through the air, mostly about lunch and where to eat.

Sorella's eyes were drawn to an ice cream parlor, but the desire to mess with Kumara surprisingly overrode her natural need for chocolate ice cream.

Kumara, while Sorella was glancing at multiple things at once, was contrastingly avoiding all of these rather interesting factors and was instead focusing on not giving Sorella anymore teasing advantage over him.

"We need to avoid those people that will be looking for us… they'll form some kind of mob..."

"We're not in a hiding place yet so we can talk on the way," Sorella pointed out.

"I don't think so," Kumara grumbled, scowling, avoiding looking at her.

"We're merely hosting a conversation; I don't understand why you're blushing so much."

"Shut up."

"And blushing and being flustered may be different, but they stem from the same kinds of feelings!" she sneered. "And you're acting flustered right now! AND your cheeks are kinda red!"

Sorella darted in front of him so she could walk backwards and talk to him at the same time. Kumara became aggravated as he halted, glaring with his vivid red eyes.

"What's the matter?" she asked, smiling a slow smile. "Are you _distracted_ by something?"

Kumara huffed once before grumbling, "I'm not distracted the least bit by a she-hulk like you!"

Sorella glared at him with golden eyes as he smirked, pleased that he rendered her speechless. He turned to a brick wall and leaned against it casually, allowing the teasing to fall away with him in the lead.

"How about I show you around California?" he suggested, distracting her from their bickering. "I live around here, so…"

"What's Caleeeefoooornyuh?" Sorella asked, sounding out each letter as she said it.

Kumara sweat dropped as he asked incredulously, "You mean you don't know what the heck California is? It's the effing state we're in, stupid!"

Sorella blushed in embarrassment as she grumbled defensively, "Well, how would I know? I'm from a different world!"

Kumara shrugged. "Meh, excuses. I bet the other mamodo would have memorized maps of the world while they were here to have an advantage over the rest."

Sorella mulled this around in her head as the sun's warm rays beat down upon the back of her neck. Kumara and Sorella made their way down a busy street, ignoring the others around them as they chatted.

"True… I know at least one mamodo that would do that…" she admitted.

Kumara smirked as he said, "And as for what we should do now, I say we lay low for a bit, because of our mess from our fight they'll be blaming you more than me. The people here know what I'm capable of, but you're new, and they'll be more focused on you. So overall..." Kumara said, with a grin. "I might get off scot free, while you get in serious trouble."

Sorella was indignant. "How is _that_ fair? _You_ instigated _me_!" she shrilled.

Kumara shrugged, smirking. "That is the way the cookie crumbles, girlie. Not my problem!"

Sorella waved a finger at him. "It most certainly _is!_ You started it! And _what_ cookie? I don't even _have_ a cookie!"

"Uh, no, _you_ were the one who said that I only talked to you to fight," Kumara shot back, ignoring her last comment. "It was as if you _ordered_ me to fight you, therefore, you are liable for my actions!"

Sorella, past the point of speech, sputtered into silence before she hissed like a cornered cat. "Well, I won't be the one to get in trouble! Let them try to make me pay for it!"

Kumara's smirk broadened mockingly and Sorella threw her hands into the air in exasperation, continuing on her way down the sidewalk away from him, though he followed her.

"You're almost 28 years old! Act your age!" Sorella huffed, shoving her hands into her jean pockets.

"What fun would that be?" he laughed.

Sorella allowed her mouth to twitch upward for a moment before fighting to put it back in its original scowl.

"What now then?" she asked, not sure of what to do.

"My advice to you is to play dumb. Deny everything they ask you about the fight," Kumara said.

"Got it!" Sorella said, pulling out a notebook to take notes, which Kumara found both annoying and amusing.

"And if they ask about your book, you can say that you're studying ancient languages, or...something like that," he said with a shrug. "You also have to be sure that you don't give away the fact that you're not human. Know what that means?"

Sorella shook her head, causing Kumara to sigh in aggravation.

"Ugh, don't go punching through concrete! Don't go overturning ice cream trucks, don't blow things up with laser eye vision, and don't lift up buildings and stomp around like a mad person."

"I don't lift up buildings and stomp around like a mad person," Sorella explained, not even knowing what laser eye vision was.

"Oh, right, that's Godzilla," Kumara sneered, but wilted in dissatisfaction that Sorella wouldn't know what Godzilla was. "Well, how about I just show you around some of California? I'm sure that we won't be spotted if we don't go near the place we fought in."

"Kay," Sorella allowed, pleased that she found another person to 'hang out' with as a friend.

That is, she was pleased until a gaggle of girls walked past the two of them. Their insufferable chatting seemed to increase as they saw Kumara, and said fire demon's head seemed to inflate tenfold. Sorella rolled her eyes and slapped him in the back of the head.

"If your head grows anymore you will fall through the street to the sewer system!" she hissed.

Kumara smirked and said, "Not if I throw you in some pop rocks first!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Pop rocks are good, ya know," Kumara stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"They're death traps."

"But…"

"DEATH. TRAPS."

"The only way pop rocks are a 'death traps' is if you drink some Coca-Cola after you eat some. Then they make your stomach explode," Kumara grinned as he whipped out a spontaneous bag of said death traps.

Sorella shrieked again and shrank away from the candy. He quickly reached into his pocket, and pulled out a red cell phone to snap a picture before pressing a few buttons.

"What did you just do?" Sorella demanded, spotting the phone and Kumara's evil grin.

"Hm? Oh, I just sent a picture of your horror struck face to a few people I know." he said, wearing an innocent smile that screamed, 'I AM THE DEVIL!'." You wanna see it?" Kumara offered. "I think it looks really good."

"A... what... you... sent... what?" Sorella sputtered, slouching, finger pointing loosely at Kumara.

Kumara wiggled the phone a little in her direction. Sorella's mouth snapped shut as she drew her fist back like a ball in a slingshot. Kumara smirked.

"Yeah, right. You wouldn't even make it!"

Sorella stopped mid-punch and pointed behind his shoulder.

"Oh, hell, it's those civilian people that must be looking around for who made that huge mess from our fight! They found us!"

Kumara twisted his back to look behind him at which time... WHAM!

Kumara was sitting on his but with one hand holding his stinging red cheek, eyes wide with shock that he had fallen for such an obvious trick. Sorella stood over him, cracking her knuckles, eyes glaring.

"So there!" she declared happily, switching from mad to pleased in an instant.

She threw her head back and breathed deep, as if cleansing herself, before holding out a hand to help Kumara up.

"There! We're even!" she laughed but suddenly her face shifted to one of darkness. "But you will never do it again." she beamed happily again. "Okay, get up and let's go!" she laughed again, holding out her hand to a still befuddled Kumara.

"Hmph..."Kumara grumbled, taking Sorella's hand and pulling himself up.

"Nyeh nyeh," Sorella teased as she skipped along the sidewalk, a smug aura pouring out of her skin.

"Don't think you'll be able to hit me next time," he said, rubbing his stinging cheek.

Sorella rolled her eyes as if to say, "Yeah, right. Of course I'll be able to."

"And uh...they really did find us," Kumara said, spying a group of people making their way towards them.

Moreover, they did not look happy one bit.


	24. Chapter 24 Meetings and Greetings

**Chapter 24: Meetings and Greetings**

Author's Note: _Sorry this one took me so long, it's inexcusable, but on some better news, I found a new site that has the manga chapters of Zatch Bell! Now I can get back to the original storyline soon instead of the fillers! Yaaay!_

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own Zatch Bell or the universe, but I did create Lance, Rita, and Sorella and Mukai-sama made Tsunam and Kumara, so please don't snatch 'em up! Thanks!**

Kumara's hair seemed to wilt as the angry looking crowd approached; however, a smug smirk fixed itself upon his lips. He leaned against the brick wall in a carefree way as Sorella folded her arms over her chest, glaring menacingly.

"Kumara!" a crooked backed old man with cane heatedly called as he hobbled over. "What did you do now?"

Kumara smiled and shrugged. "What happened? Some new worldly trauma?" he asked as if he knew nothing about whatever they were talking about.

A rickety, tall, and spidery woman glared heavily with beady eyes. "Don't go acting like that!" she nagged, waving a pointy nailed finger at his face.

Sorella's eyes narrowed. They were being very rude. Who did this lady think she was, the Queen? Well, she was the Queen of ugly, which was for sure. In an effort to keep silent, she pulled a sucker out of her bag and put it in her mouth, pushing it around with her tongue to distract herself.

"That street over there looks like it was torn apart by an earthquake!" the woman shrieked in a voice reminding Sorella of nails on a chalkboard.

"We _know_ you had something to do with it, the trouble maker you are!" another man accused as the seven other nameless complainers shouted in agreement.

Kumara smirked, not denying this fact. "I _am_ a trouble maker, but what makes you think I had anything to do with that big, _expensive_ mess?"

The spidery woman pushed aside another woman roughly to glare up at Kumara's calm face. "You're a demon; why should we believe anything you say?"

Sorella, in an attempt to say nothing, bit hard on the sucker, smashing it in between her teeth. She chewed it in irritation, glad for something to break. She hated people like that spider woman… they were always assuming the worst of people! Oh, how she'd love to slam her knuckles at that lady's arrogant mouth…

"You're almost a demon yourself," Kumara taunted as the woman's face flushed puce with rage.

Spider lady opened her mouth to yell at Kumara, but Sorella, now finished with her sucker, was unable to stay silent.

"He was with me, wasn't he?" she snapped irritably. The woman swung her beady eyes to glare at Sorella. "Do_ I_ look like a demon to you?" she snipped, tossing back her long dark hair.

"Well... you...!" the woman started to stutter, but Sorella cut her off.

"You said you couldn't believe what _he_ said because he was a demon! Well, believe what _I_ say!" Sorella hissed, playing hard on the fact she looked so humanoid, despite the fact she technically was a mamodo, or a demon.

"Well, where were you, then?" the man with the cane intervened, able to recover faster than the spidery limbed woman.

Sorella reached into her bag and pulled out a random receipt she saved from earlier in the day when she bought some muffins. Luckily, she'd kept it before she met Kumara, so now she could lie with a little bit of false evidence. "I got some ice cream and we got muffins! Does that sound _unusual_ to you?"

They all stared wide-eyed, unable to counter Sorella's statement. They were clearly thinking of ways to pin this on Kumara, since he had a criminal record that could wrap around the Earth three times, but if he had an alibi, they had nothing on him!

"We had just finished eating our delectable muffin lunch when you came and bothered us," Kumara said with a grin, loving the fact he was playing these people for fools.

"That may be so..."A young man said, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. "But then explain how almost all the trees and grass shriveled up in one place, and the rest of the greenery wasn't affected?"

The crowd all turned to Kumara, who was silent.

"And the cars and buildings in that area had patches of melted metal. I think we all know who the only one capable of doing such things is."

Kumara didn't say anything for a moment before sighing and ruffling his tangle of unmanageable red hair. He looked towards Sorella with an impish grin of pure mischievousness.

"...Okay, they got me there... Now'd be a good time to run, girlie. I'll keep them focused on me," he whispered to Sorella before addressing the angry mob. "So you got me on that one… But you won't be able to turn me in if you don't catch me!"

Flames circled around Kumara, and when they disappeared, he was gone."After him!" The man shouted, and the crowd took off. Kumara jumped from light post to light post, being sure to keep within range of their sight.

"I think he ditched me," Sorella said to herself. "No, he's just trying to distract them! He can't distract those dunderheads forever!"

Sorella dashed off, thinking about a place that Kumara would go for fun, meaning it'd be a place with ammunition for her to help him out! she thought about it and Sorella yelled in frustration, making a sharp turn around the corner and sprinting right across the street, not particularly caring that the sign said, "Don't Walk."

"I have no idea! I don't know anything about the human world!" she cried out, angry at her own ignorance of things. She was half-human, she should know this world by now! "But I think Kumara would enjoy an area of chaos, turmoil, yet with a sense of fun…"

_What the hell kind of place is decent for that guy?_ Sorella mentally exclaimed as she turned down another corner, pushing through the dense crowd of shoppers. She was ready to just use her spells and attack that mob on Kumara's behalf when she spotted some building ahead. It had a picture of young teens shooting each other with what looked like globs of paint.

Sorella grinned deviously, liking the idea of shooting someone. There were some mamodo in her world that had machine gun spells and they were very effective! Besides, if she used those gun things instead of her spells, she could save heart energy and avoid attracting other mamodo!

"I can open fire on that mob chasing Kumara and get the heck outta here and find somewhere to lie low!" Sorella said to herself as if it were the most obvious thing.

Grinning like a vampire surrounded by blood, Sorella hurried inside the building and cracking her knuckles. These people were going to give her what she wanted and show her how to use that gun thing! Or else.

Meanwhile, Kumara had managed to lose the crowd and was looking for Sorella. "Hm...Let's see...Knowing the muscle tyrant, she went somewhere I would go. This means... she's at a paintball arena." Kumara ran off towards the building."I just hope I get there before Sorella does something stupid."

Unfortunately, Sorella WAS doing something extraordinarily stupid. She had already ninja chopped the staff and booted the players out of the building claiming that, for safety reasons, they were to be evacuated immediately.

"What safety reasons?" one snotty kid asked her.

Sorella's eyes glinted malevolently as she cracked her knuckles.

"YOUR'S!" she hissed, causing all in the vicinity to run away for their lives. "Okay!" she said brightly, turning to look at herself as she garbed on a vest, helmet, and had a paintball gun, which she slung over her shoulder.

Sorella gathered up her chosen weapon, a sniper looking rifle, and had slung multiple upon multiple shoulder slings of paintball ammo.

"Now we can go rescue Kumara!" she cheered enthusiastically. She cocked the gun and grinned malevolently. "Of course, having fun along the way!"

Laughing like a lunatic, Sorella ran from the store, searching for the mob that had chased after Kumara. What was amusing was that just as she vanished down the street, Kumara approached he store. He saw several people standing outside grumbling about something.

"What's going on?" he asked."

."Some weird girl came in and forced us out Said something about rescuing some idiot."

Kumara groaned in exasperation."That girl...Where'd she go?"

The kid pointed up the street, and Kumara raced off in that direction to find her. However, Sorella had already snuck quietly down an alley, peering around the corner at the group of confused looking civilians, the ones that had chased Kumara.

"Where is he?" she asked herself, since it looked like Kumara had escaped and they weren't happy about it one bit. "They probably buried him in some ice cold room, like those freezers in stores, so he can't use his fire powers! The savages!"

A voice in the back of her mind told her that humans weren't capable of such atrocities, but then she also reminded herself that humans invented pop rocks and those wretched car monsters, so their minds must be full of demented ideas of torture!

"Now, on the count of three, I open fire. Once I have them in our mercy, we force Kumara's location out of them!" Sorella hissed to herself again. "That poor idiot is probably freezing his butt off! How they managed to catch him is beyond me, he's really fast..."

"Sorella..." a voice behind her said, but she ignored it.

"Maybe they spewed that white fluffy stuff from the red can on him, that thing that puts out fires?" Sorella questioned, still staring at the complaining group.

"Sorella!" the voice said more insistently, though Sorella ignored it again, too focused on the task at hand to pay attention.

"Okay, let's go get that red haired idiot out of whatever torture device those brutes put him in! One," she started.

"Sorella!"

"Two!"

"SORELLA!" the voice yelled, footsteps following it as if someone were running up behind her.

"Three!"

Before Sorella could fire, Kumara snatched the paintball gun away from her, having been the voice behind her.

"Gosh, I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you turn into Rambo!" he said. "Now come on before that mob finds us."

Kumara shifted into his demon form, and scooped up Sorella with a massive, clawed hand. He took off running just as the mob rounded the corner. Sorella rested her elbow on the large knuckles holding her, cheek on her hand, and pouting. She had secretly wanted to pelt that whiny group relentlessly with the paintballs; it looked like fun and they were so snooty about demons! Jeez, what is it with the world and demons?

"When are you gonna let me out?" Sorella whined as Kumara jumped from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding being seen by the passersby below on the street.

"When I am sure you won't go on a shooting rampage," was the teasing reply.

"I wasn't going to hurt them... _much_," she added under Kumara's critical stare.

"Sorella," Kumara said. "You infiltrated a paintball arena, kicked everyone out with life threatening statements, stole weaponry, you were discussing war tactics, and thinking they stuffed this guy in a freezer. That's pretty overboard."

"Shut up!" Sorella snapped, blushing angrily. "So I got a _little_ carried away..."

"A little?" Kumara scoffed with an eye roll.

"Where are we going?" Sorella asked, now completely disgruntled. "We lost that mob, at least."

"It appears that's not the only thing you've lost," a raspy voice said from behind.

Sorella let out a shrill squeal of terror, turning slowly to find the person she wanted to see least. Brago and Sherry were eying Sorella with looks of obvious disapproval since she was practically trapped in a massive fire demon's clutches. To Brago, she must look pretty darn pathetic, and to Sherry… well, she must be thinking the same thing. The only thing that seemed to be going through Sorella's mind was one phrase…

_I think I'm in trouble._


	25. Chapter 25 Combative Egos

**Chapter 25: Combative Egos**

**Author's Note:**_ Again, my apologies for the lateness! School's almost out and I was cleaning my room like Adrian Monk! Super clean ninjutsu activate! Anyhoo, here's the new chapter and I hope you enjoy! In addition, sorry for any confusion about me switching the P.O.V. after the Lance battle because I thought, after that "arc" of the story, it would be better for it to be third person instead of first person narrative. I should really make some deadlines for myself because I…_

_Sorella: (punches Smiley) Stop talking and let them read already!_

_Smiley: En… enjoy the chapter… (twitches) You're so mean, Ella-chan…_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Zatch Bell related, but I did make Sorella, Rita, and Lance (yada yada), Kumara, and Tsunam are my friend Mukai-sama's!

"H… hey, Brago! Sup?" Sorella asked, trying to be casual.

Brago "humphed" and leaned against the grungy, oily alley wall, looking grouchy. It was dark and dingy in the alley with a distinct scent of rotten food, hobos, and dirt. Mold was creeping up on a trash can and was a tainted, disgusting green. The lid of the can was knocked off and bent in as if someone had used it to bring the beat down on someone. Garbage was overflowing and the fire escape was rusty and rickety looking. Sorella's first impression?

Nasty, yucky, sickening, vomit worthy, and overall a place she really didn't want to be in. Also, there were a lot of things that could be drawn to her bad luck. For example, the broken toaster in the dumpster near the back of the alley could come to life unexpectedly and bombard her with someone else's nasty leftovers. She could slip in the green mold and fall into the can, forever to be tormented by Kumara and Brago. Sorella could jump up to grab the fire escape ladder only to have it fall right off, smack her in the head, and wipe her memory. Yeah, this place wasn't good for someone with fate as bad as Sorella's.

"Kumara, this is Brago and Sherry," Sorella introduced. "Brago's in the competition too... I've helped him loads of times!"

Brago snarled angrily, red eyes vanishing into the whites.

"Like hell you have!" he snarled.

"Deeefeeennnssive!" Sorella said in a singsong voice, making Sherry smirk. "If you find a mamodo, let me know, and I'll back you up!"

Brago scoffed, "As if we need back up."

"Anyway, this is Kumara. Kumara's actually old as dirt even though he doesn't act like it," Sorella added to Sherry in an undertone.

"I see," Sherry replied, peering at Kumara warily as he growled, "I heard that!"

Brago seemed almost interested, though his natural posture of his hands in his furred pants and cocky head tilt indicated anything but interest. His beady, dark red eyes stared back at Kumara, who was still glaring at him.

"A fire demon, are you?" Brago asked in his raspy voice.

Kumara instantly folded into a defensive posture. His red hair almost crackled with heat as his fiery red eyes narrowed in challenge. He stuck his chin out arrogantly and Brago immediately tensed when he sensed this other male challenging his authority.

"What of it?" Kumara growled, as if demanding Brago to have a problem with it.

"Nothing, just that I find demons like you compensating for a lack of power due to the largeness of your fire power," Brago said as if it were the most obvious thing.

Sorella subtly edged away from Kumara and tugged Sherry with her. A few seconds later, Kumara's body temperature exploded violently, melting a few garbage cans nearby. He toned it down before he injured Sorella or Sherry, but fire still sizzled at his knuckles and circled around his feet.

"Say that again!" Kumara snarled.

Brago smirked. "Not only are fire demons incompetent in battle, but they have short term memory loss."

Kumara sizzled more than eggs in a pan and Sorella sensed a fight, so she quickly intervened.

"These are my friends, Kumara!" she said rather nervously. "They helped me in a spot a while ago, but I helped them back! We're even now and allies! Heh heh heh…!"

"Such relationships are pointless in a battle," Brago rasped, unworried about Kumara's angry glare. "The only relationships that are worth having are those between the winner and the loser of a fight."

Brago's mouth twitched into a sharp-toothed sneer as he looked at Kumara.

"I think you're on the losing side of the spectrum," Brago growled, smirk growing at Kumara's increasing anger.

Flames burst out from Kumara's body, hissing and crackling menacingly as if they reflected Kumara's anger.

"I'm gonna beat you into the ground!" Kumara shouted as the flames sped towards Brago.

However, the flames only scorched the stone. Sorella and Sherry nimbly leapt up to a fire escape to avoid the battle. Sherry didn't even pull out her spell book because she figured Brago could just punch Kumara a few times to get him to back off. Sorella snickered a bit at this because from what she learned about Kumara…

He didn't back down from a fight, even if it was one he couldn't win. Before Kumara could even land a hit, though, Brago seemingly disappeared. Kumara skid to a halt, tensing as his eyes whirled in search of the mamodo.

"It seems that you've not proven me wrong in my assumption," Brago's raspy voice said from behind Kumara.

Kumara spun around to face Brago, youthful face twisted with fury. Brago, in comparison, was cool and collected with his arms crossed over his chest and mouth set into the always-visible scowl.

Brago growled, "You're still as tender as a three year old."

Kumara growled, and the flames formed a large ring around the two of them. The wall of flames stretched high enough to reach the top of the building. Brago was standing in the middle of a flame circle and Kumara was grinning arrogantly at him.

"What now, Brago the freak?" he sneered. "Not so tough with fire surrounding you are-!"

Kumara swallowed his sentence when Brago vanished. Before Kumara could even turn to the right and look for him, Brago had his hand suddenly around Kumara's thin throat, lifting him into the air, feet kicking out angrily, and hands yanking on Brago's muscular arm in trying to release himself.

"You're nothing but a child," Brago rasped, red eyes vanishing, an indication of rage. "A good fighter knows when to pick his fights, and with whom. You're nothing more than a lion that roars at a machine gun. The lion is strong, but the machine gun is stronger, and the lion's pride will get him killed."

Brago's fingers clenched a moment, further showing Kumara's predicament.

"All the power in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't know how to wield it."

Kumara gritted his teeth, warped out of Brago's grasp, and reappeared in front of him. _I am not losing this battle! Not to him!_ Kumara thought to himself before growling, summoning his flame scythe. The weapon handle was made out of twisting wood and knots, making it look jagged, rough, and wild. The curved blade was bright blue like one would see in the immensely hot flame of a Bunsen burner. It sparkled like diamonds, but held not attractive qualities because the only thing someone thought when they saw it was,

"Oh crap, I hope I don't get hit with that thing."

"I don't give a crap what you say; I'm winning this battle even if it kills me!" Kumara said.

"Then you may just die," Brago growled, cracking his clawed fingers before swiftly darting over to Kumara.

Sorella watched with a stoic an exuberant expression, while Sherry was passive. She didn't believe Kumara stood a chance, so she wasn't worried. Sorella, on the other hand, was rooting for both teams. She both wanted Kumara to win and to fail and vice versa for Brago. They both were super arrogant in their fighting methods and she would love to see them be punched in the face (Brago punched in the face would be epic). Then again, some fights shouldn't be fought. There were worse things than getting hit in your ego.

Kumara used the tactic of warping away and reappearing behind Brago to try to get the edge on him, but Brago's speed was inconceivable. By the time Kumara summoned fire to throw at Brago, Brago would already be next to him and slamming a fist in his cheek, jaw, or shoulder.

Once, when Kumara yelled angrily and ran at him head on, Brago simply stood there and just punched Kumara right in the gut so hard that he flew upwards, eyes wide, and back to the ground with a heavy thump. Brago didn't hold back his punches and Kumara didn't hold back his flames. Yet, Brago had no wounds on him at all and Kumara was practically coughing up blood after that punch to his gut.

Sorella sighed when Brago was about to swing his fist upon Kumara again, but Sorella appeared in front of him and her hand wrapped around Brago's wrist, stopping the hit in mid-swing.

"Okay, that's enough," she said regretfully, not wanting to end the fight.

Brago growled at her for a short moment before retracting his arm and crossing his arms over his chest, glowering. Sherry leapt down, somewhat surprised Brago backed off.

"His tenaciousness almost makes up for his weak use of strategy…" Brago said.

"That sounded like a compliment!" Sorella observed.

"I said _almost_," he snarled, going around Sorella to pick Kumara up by the scruff of his neck, glaring at him in the face.

This would make anyone wilt slightly, no matter how much they wanted to beat Brago senseless.

"You're weak," Brago growled. "And until you get past that temper of yours, you won't move forward. Foolish fire demon brat."

Brago dropped Kumara on the ground and walked away, pausing a moment only to look at Sorella over his shoulder.

"There are more mamodo in the area, and I had better not hear a weakling burned your book before I got the chance to."

"Yeah, yeah, you be careful too!" Sorella laughed, waving as Brago turned to walk away.

"Sorella, I would like to meet up with you again later on today. We are in the grandest hotel of the city, which should be easy to find. You know what places I prefer to stay in," Sherry said, offering Sorella a rare smile of friendship.

Sorella winked. "You betcha! I'll come talk to you later!"

"She means she will come to mooch off of your flimsy human money," Brago said without turning around.

Sorella turned to look at the sulking Kumara, knowing that silence was the best option right now. She would wait for him to say something first, because she knew the simmering silence of defeat would most likely pushing him into speech. Kumara's eyes suddenly sparked with intense fire and Sorella's golden eyes gleamed as she leapt away.

"KUMARA!" Sorella yelled warningly, but it was too late.

Kumara threw up his palms before him and a massive column of fire burst forth, red flames circling in a writhing vortex of heat. Brago and Sherry didn't even turn, sensing the attack from the heat upon the nape of their necks. Brago's thick arm wrapped around Sherry's delicate, petite waist and he leapt high into the air to avoid the attack. It dispersed by the time his touched the ground and in Sherry's elegant hands was a black book. Brago turned slowly with a sadistic sneer upon his features, palm lifted…

"_Borutsu Gurabirei_!" Sherry called immediately, black book bursting with light.

Kumara suddenly found himself yanked towards Brago's outstretched, glowing hand, and realized Brago's spells related to gravity. Sherry ended the spell immediately when Kumara was close to Brago, and Brago curled his fingers into a fist before punching Kumara right in the jaw and sending him hurtling away from him.

"If you're going to fight me," Brago rasped, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Kumara with disdain. "At least make more of an effort."

Kumara growled, but thought of something. He slipped into a fighting pose, making Brago think he was going to rush straight at him. Kumara took a step forward, and flames burst up from the ground underneath Brago, who leapt away. Kumara charged, while making columns of flames shoot up every time Brago landed. _If I can keep this up, I might be able to land a hit!_Kumara thought. Brago let a wicked smirk appear on his face, exposing his shark-like teeth.

Sherry's voice echoed, "_Kueaborutsu Gurabirei_!" and black walls rose from the ground around the training area.

Brago landed lightly on his feet as Kumara rushed forward, but then skid to a halt when the jets of fire erupting from the ground froze to a near standstill. Brago vanished and reappeared behind Kumara, kicking the fire demon with his shoe in the back of the head, sending him to the ground.

"Darn it..." Kumara snarled as the black walls vanished. "It's a spell that slows an enemy's attack..."

Brago smirked, but didn't say anything. It seemed he was waiting for Kumara to get up. After a moment of struggling, limbs shaking, Kumara got to his feet and took a deep breath. He returned Brago's smirk cockily, as if sneering, "Come and get it, pal!" Kumara clenched a fist and pulled it back as he charged, fire circling his arm.

Brago's eyes narrowed slightly at Kumara's persistence, but then smirked as he dodged Kumara with grace. However, he snarled angrily when Kumara went for Sherry, who braced herself and swung the staff around, the gem flying from the end. Swinging around the gem connected by a metal cord, Sherry swung it at Kumara and it wrapped around his back leg. Sherry yanked the cord, causing Kumara to roll on the ground before regaining his feet. However, this small hesitation and distraction was enough for Brago to get Sherry out of the way as well as allow her to call another spell.

"_Amu Guranaguru_!"

Brago's arms glowed with gravitational light, and he darted forward at Kumara, claws flexed.

It was then that Kumara realized the energy surrounding Brago's arms were also pulling Kumara towards the dark clad Mamodo. Brago swung his fist towards Kumara, who stretched out a hand to grab it (though he found his whole body was pulled towards Brago's fist), and Brago struck away Kumara's arm as well as bringing his other hand to strike Kumara's shoulder. Kumara warped away before reappearing and staggering a bit. Brago had just managed to land his attack, and there was a deep gash in Kumara's shoulder.

"Crap…!" Kumara snarled.

"_Dioga Gravidon_!" Sherry shouted and a massive ball of purple energy with multicolored wisps spinning around it.

The spell went right for Kumara and Brago was watching Kumara intently. It was as if he were waiting for something promising because so far he wasn't impressed. That was_ before_ flames suddenly engulfed Kumara. The spell hit the flames and exploded, making Sherry, Sorella, and Brago shield themselves. Brago scowled in rage that Kumara's fire dispersed his attack and defused it.

How could such a weakling stop his own attack? He was the strongest in the competition!

Sorella's lips stretched into an exuberant grin as her long, dark hair fluttered into her face from the massive energy whipping around the area. Her hands gripped the metal bar and even when she felt the bite of the cold steel, Sorella didn't move. Her golden eyes watched the fight with eagerness.

"This is awesome!" Sorella cheered, watching as the fire dome around Kumara slowly began to disperse.

"Remind me..." Kumara's voice said from within the sphere. "To go easier on you so I don't kill you by accident!"

To Sorella's slight surprise, Brago grinned a wide, vicious smile. Brago began to emit an elated aura, feeling excited as the flames dispersed, revealing Kumara in his fire demon form. He was at a towering height, the rusty red fur coarse and lethal flame scythe clutched in a clawed paw.

"Now this fight can really _heat_up!" Kumara yelled, making Sorella face palm at the bad pun.

"This is a far more promising opponent!" Brago said, rushing forward with a sudden increase in speed and swiping at Kumara without even using spells.

"You... you jerk!" Kumara shouted, dodging Brago. "You were holding back earlier!"

Brago suddenly spun around in a circle and kicking Kumara's chest, sending him skidding backwards, though he didn't fall this time and kept his ground. Sherry's cerulean eyes were calculative and cold; she was completely in the moment. Nothing else mattered but the battle and the stakes at hand. Whether Brago admitted it or not, Kumara was a fire demon, so his fire could most certainly burn their book. Her blonde bangs flickered before her face from the energy explosions like gusts of wind, making her skin prickle with adrenaline.

"What's the point of obliterating an enemy in the first few seconds?" Brago responded, cracking his knuckles as he flexed his claws.

Brago held up the palm of his hand and without any signal of any kind, Sherry called, "_Oruga Reis!" _indicating that Brago and Sherry had an impeccable partnership and were a dynamic team.

A swirling purple beam of energy shot out with incredible speed from Brago's palm and sped right for Kumara, flashing through the air like an all-powerful arrow. Kumara blocked the beam with his scythe, and shot a round of fireballs at Brago before racing at him.

"Hey, Brago! Why not fight me yourself mano-a-mano without your book master!"Kumara said, as he swiped a paw at Brago who dodged it.

Brago's face remained passive and calm; however, the reds of his eyes vanished.

"Then you would have to abandon your fire," Brago replied, making Kumara scoff in disapproval. "My spells are like your flames. The fact I need a human to call them is no different than you calling on your fire."

"_REIS_!" Sherry called and a violet sphere of gravity shot out at Kumara, who just barely dodged it before the two of them exchanged a few hand-to-hand blows.

"In fact, you trying to get Sherry out of this fight just proves your insignificance," Brago said in his gravelly voice. "It seems me using my spells in combination with my combative skills is overwhelming."

Kumara yelled in anger as he swung his weapon at Brago, who nimbly dodged it.

"It's true I was intrigued by the possibility of fighting you..." Brago rasped. "However, you're not quite meeting my expectations. How disappointing."

Brago held out his palm and the book in Sherry's hands flared up with dark light. It seemed he carried the authority of death himself, the entire world pressing down upon Kumara's shoulders as he glared at that uplifted, black clawed hand.

"_Bidom Gravirei_!" Sherry's voice echoed with power as a massive span of gravity forced itself upon Kumara, pressing him harshly to the ground, immobile.

"I wonder..." Sherry said, pouring heart energy into the spell as the pressure pushing Kumara down increased. "How will you free yourself? Will your warping flames work? It's very interesting."

Brago scoffed, the reds of his eyes reappearing, obviously in disagreement with Sherry on how interesting things were.

"Heh..." Kumara said, surprising them. "This is nothing! I have to deal with 9 younger siblings jumping on me all the time back home!"

Kumara got to his feet, and disappeared in a swirl of flames. He was about to turn and strike at Brago with his scythe when Brago jammed his heel into Kumara's skull, sending him down to the ground. Kumara cried out in pain from Brago's sudden kick, his fire demon form warping away and revealing his humanoid one. Kumara panted, trying to get up. The throbbing in his head prevented him from hardly moving, so he resorted to glaring at Brago as the caped mamodo approached. Brago lifted a hand, his black book glowing in the short distance, but he pulled away and simply put his hands in his pockets.

Brago scoffed, "I'd rather not fight an injured opponent... it'd be too easy."

"Tch," Kumara scoffed. "I'd beat you with, or without, these wounds!"

"Unlikely."

"Why you...!" Kumara started, but then slumped in fatigue. "Meh... whatever... we'll fight again when I'm better and we're both at full strength!"

"Not that it will amount to much and make any difference," Brago growled as he stalked past Kumara and headed off towards Sherry, who put Brago's book back into her side bag.

Sherry grinned as turned to Kumara, blue eyes cold with the elation of victory, yet her smile was kind and sympathetic. Sorella snickered at Sherry's expression because it was so contradictive. That's what Sorella liked best about the girl.

"Brago may act all tough and callous, but he's really considerate when it comes to his opponents," Sherry explained to Brago's irritation. "My guess is he doesn't want to kill you by mistake since you're so injured."

Sherry meant for this to be a comfort, but that's not how Kumara took it.

"Darn it, stop calling me weak!" he grumbled as Sherry hurried after Brago, who was already leaving the alley.

Sorella watched them go before she flipped over the bars of the fire escape and landed lightly on her toes beside Kumara. She squat beside him and pat his tangle of red hair condescendingly, golden eyes glinting with mirth. Her full lips curled into a teasing sneer and her voice was impossibly sweet.

"Now, now, Kuma-chan," she said with a coo. "What have we learned?"

Kumara scoffed, rolling his eyes. "That muscle tyrant she-hulks have crappy friends?"

Needless to say, he deserved the smack to his face.


	26. Chapter 26 Crystal Clear

Chapter 26 Crystal Clear

**Author's Note:** _Soooooooorrrrryyyyyy! FORGIIIIIIVE MEEEEEE! This is WAAAAAAAY too late… 6 months late… I'm so sorry! I hope I still have people interested in reading the story and haven't given up on it for the lack of updates… I haven't forgotten about the story, but… I know, excuses, but I've been suuuper busy with school… Anyway, here it is! I planned this chapter out in what reads as a good way, ha ha, and I hope you all enjoy it! I felt like my description in my chapters as of late has been seriously lacking, so I tried suuuper duper hard to make this chapter especially descriptive! I hope it shows and amounts to my earlier chaps! Hugs and kisses! Well, maybe not those since right now I have a chest cold and maaaaan… if you've EVER seen the show The Nanny with Fran Drescher in it… I sound like her right now… __¬_¬__ JUST. LIKE. HER. _ (sobs in corner) _

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Zatch Bell, but I did create my own charries, Sorella, Rita, Lance, yada yada. **

Brago and Sherry were training in the yard of one of Sherry's country homes in the lovely country of France. The weather was warm, the sky blue, and of course neither Sherry nor Brago noticed. They were too caught up in their training.

They hadn't seen Sorella in months, and the Faudo incident had gone past without her even being involved. Sherry suspected that Sorella was training secretly somewhere and that she was so focused on improving herself, that all of the drama went on without her.

"For the better," Brago had said when Sherry brought it up. "She only would have gotten in the way, weak as she is…"

Sherry just shook her head. Whether Brago wanted to admit it or not, Sorella was strong and Sherry was actually excited to fight her someday and, no matter how much Brago tried to hide it, he was too. Sherry was hoping that Sorella would show up out of the blue someday soon considering how long she'd been away. They hadn't even seen that friend of hers that Brago absolutely refused to mention.

Brago would even refuse to be around when talk of that friend came up, Kumara was his name wasn't it…?

"A worthless piece of trash…" Brago would snarl and often slouch off somewhere to train without Sherry; training that usually resulted in the wreckage of a bulldozer or a grizzly bear.

It had been a while since the Faudo incident and Brago was determined that he would surpass everyone now more than ever. Of course, Brago being needed in the last minute and contributing to the reason they won didn't exactly provide him with a slice of humble pie. His ego, if anything, only inflated.

Sherry could tell that he was putting forth all his effort to remain one of the strongest mamodo in the entire competition. He was working her so hard that she felt like a mule plowing a farmer's field for days on end.

Brago even called her a dumb mule every now and again.

Mostly, though, Brago was his usually social butterfly self.

That was sarcasm. Brago was completely anti-social and even more grumpy than usual in his earnest to win and take his place as king of the mamodo world. Sherry would help him get there if it was the last thing she did. Brago and Sherry tried to isolate themselves as best as possible from the other competitors so they could focus on their training.

That day, however…

A competitor found _them_.

They were just beginning to move into hand-to-hand combat skill testing when an immensely strong magical pressure imposed upon them. A swirling black portal of sorts opened up a short distance away. Tensing immediately, Brago and Sherry put on their game faces. Brago glanced his book master's way and scoffed silently to himself. Why Sherry didn't trade her voluminous dresses for something more combat-suitable he never understood. Sherry thought the same of his furry pants and wondered how he could move so agilely with clothes that must weight a lot and be stifling in warm weather.

A leg stepped out of the portal, followed by the rest of the body. Sherry's eyes, blue as slices of the ocean, narrowed when a sense of terrible foreboding swarmed within her chest.

"Brago!" she snapped, nothing more needing to be said to alert her partner to the danger that was coming at them.

"Heh, that's an impressive entrance," Brago scoffed.

A girl with a massive amount of curly hair and sitting upon a mamodo that was tall, black, and resembled a flash drive with limbs emerged along with a thin young man.

"Hrm, looks like Gorm will actually have to try a little with this demon…" the girl said, irking Sherry.

Who in the world was that brat and whom did she think she was to talk down to them? Try a little, she said, try a little! Sherry grit her teeth and used all her training as a woman of the higher social class to control her emotions.

Before Sherry could utter a sound, even a breath, an enormously potent magical pressure swarmed around them like a whirlwind of choking dust. The young man stepped forward; similar to Brago's hair, this young man's… no, this mamodo's hair defied gravity. Helium must have been injected into every strand of hair so it would float upwards toward the sky in a bushy, teardrop shape. Thin and lanky, he could hardly be considered a threat if one didn't count the destructive energy about him. He was dressed in a simple thick-strapped tank top tucked into his faded, washed out blue jeans.

"Brago… that's your name right? Nice to meet you. My name is Clear," the young mamodo said.

His expression was vacant; even the haughty smirk upon his thin lips was empty of any true emotions. His eyes were crisp like the skin of a tart green apple and were long, narrow, and completely empty of anything honest.

"Clear Note," he finished introducing.

Brago and Sherry wore identical masks of disbelief. It was nearly comical the way that sweat gushed from their hairlines and dribbled down their foreheads and cheeks. Despite the young man's initial appearance as that of a weak human, Brago and Sherry suspected this was just the outer level of his dangerousness. The appearance Clear had made his enemies lower their guard until they sensed the dark magical energy, but by then it probably was too late and this mamodo annihilated his enemies.

Brago tensed even more than usual and growled softly, "Sherry…"

"I know," Sherry answered, sensing Brago's concern for her, or rather, concern for his book and his place in the competition.

_I knew he wasn't normal the second I saw him!_ Sherry thought in a slight panic, trying to calm her nerves. _But… what is… this power…? This… aura?_

It was inhuman, even for mamodo who weren't human at all.

"Cleaaaaar!" the girl cried out in a high-pitched voice.

Brago grit his teeth in frustration, obviously wanting to smack the annoying human in her face. Sherry couldn't blame him.

"We can handle thiiiiiiis! Let Gorm-" she began to whine, but apparently Clear found her annoying as well and cast a scary, dark look her way.

Quickly and fluidly, while Clear was glaring at the young banshee, er... human, Brago and Sherry prepared themselves.

" Sherry!" Brago roared to Sherry's surprise.

She assumed he would want to attack in a sneaky fashion, but then Sherry understood. He wanted Sherry to understand that using anything relatively low level would get the both of them killed, and Brago wasn't about to have any of that.

_This guy…_ Sherry thought, her eyes sliding over Clear's face._ Just looking at him, I know using weak spells would be pointless!_

"_Gigano Reis!"_ Sherry cried out, brandishing the glowing black spell book as if it were a sword in one hand and her staff in the other.

The blast of violet energy shot out of Brago's palm and propelled through the air directly at Clear Note. Clear, without changing from his somewhat bored, vacant expression, lazily flicked a finger upward and repelled the spell with ease. Sherry blanched, completely blindsided with shock.

_He… repelled it with just his finger…!_ Sherry's thought stuttered in her mind.

Brago glared at Sherry, cursing her mentally for having a brain lapse because Clear simply used a finger to deflect a spell. She needed to be more attentive; he couldn't keep watching out for her every moment and especially against such a dangerous opponent!

"SHERRY!" Brago yelled, his raspy voice erupting from his mouth. "Jump forward and to the right!"

Sherry obeyed blindly, her body moving despite her brain not fully working yet. Brago hissed between his teeth, a slight glimmer of worry passing in his beady red eyes when Clear suddenly appeared behind Sherry.

"It's dangerous… for a lady to swing this thing around…" Clear said to her, his voice like silky honey with a dash of minty coolness.

Sherry flinched when Clear suddenly took her staff. His empty eyes bore down into hers, locking her in a frozen position of terror. Brago's feet slammed into the grassy ground, pushing himself forward. Clear turned slightly towards Brago at the sound of the dark mamodo's throaty yell.

Brago's fist punched towards Clear and he scoffed at the futile effort. To Brago, however, it was not futile because even if none of Brago's punches made contact with Clear's skin, they still distracted the gangly, humanoid mamodo from harming Sherry. Sherry, trapped in a state of disbelief, didn't realize that Brago was trying to buy her time to collect herself.

_Brago's punches can send a bulldozer flying… But clear's handling them effortlessly…_

She stayed in her stiff state until Brago snapped her out of it by snapping at her angrily.

"Sherry!" he snarled. "Collect yourself or go jump off of a cliff! The way you are right now is as useless to me as if you were dead! Get a hold of yourself or die!"

Sherry nodded and her face melted from traumatized to fierce. The spell book in her hand glowed with an increase in heart energy. She wouldn't let herself slip anymore than she already had! She'd already been a burden and she wouldn't be one for the rest of the battle! Too many times had Brago already had to bail her out of danger by calling her name! She called their _Rioru Reis_ spell, but it was as effective as if she hadn't called the spell to begin with.

Brago's fists punched, his legs swung, his feet kicked, but it was all useless. Clear Note was swift, darting around Brago's attacks like the wind curving around a building; nothing could block it and nothing could hit it.

" _Gigano Reis!"_ Sherry screamed, her throat scratching from the intensity of her yell.

Swirling energy of darkness carved a scoop into the ground like a spoon swipes at a fresh tub of ice cream. The ground was just as soft and thawed out compared to the hardness of Brago's spell. The blast of magic from Brago's palm sent Clear spinning through the air. Brago's face lit up with vindictive pleasure at seeing Clear's deceivingly frail looking body tossed into the air like a limp doll.

_Got him! _Brago thought, his lips curving into a cresent smile of fanged molars.

Sherry's eyes gleamed at the success she could practically taste in her mouth. Clear obviously had been lucky earlier, but now…

_He won't be able to dodge while he's in midair!_

Sherry inhaled deeply, filling her lungs and gathering an enormous amount of heart energy before calling, "_Baberuga gravidon!"_

Massive, crushing energy pushed downward upon Clear who had righted himself by that time. He lazily lifted one palm towards the sky as the spell crashed down.

A high-pitched voice wailed out, "Superflo!"

A type of magical energy from Clear's spell protected Clear in a circumfrance of space, allowing the rest of the ground surrounding him to be compressed into a massive canyon. Brago and Sherry looked on as their spell waned, fading away into useless nothingness.

Brago's lips were slightly parted in outrage and disbelief. _Only the area around him… was unaffected by my spell? His spell… negated baberuga gravidon?_

"That's right…" Clear said as if remembering something worth mentioning, brushing imaginary dust from his shirt. "Let me introduce you… this is my partner… Come on out, Vino."

Vino appeared like a car emerged from a fog, merely an infant in age. He was sitting in a bassonet cup with soft velvet cushions snuggling around him, he had light colored curls protruding from the cap of his micky-mouse eared hat, looking as if he'd just gone to Disney World and had the time fo his life. The baby in the cup-like chair was completely enveloped in a bubble of protective magical energy.

"Wh… what…?" Sherry gasped. "B… but he's only an infant! How can an infant possibly be a book master?"

"Outrageous…" Brago snarled, but not out of concern for the child's welfare of being in such a dangerous battle.

He was more concerned with the fact that such a helpless being could possibly be strong enough to be a book master to begin with.

"I don't want any harm to befall this child," Clear Note explained, seeing them eyeing the protective barrier as if devising how to destroy it (which they were doing). "Therefore, though it halves my power, I've created a barrier around him to protect him."

"Halves his power?" Sherry gasped. "He's that strong and he's only at half power?"

Brago cursed silently to himself, glaring at the book in the infant Vino's hands. How the hell could they burn Clear Note's spell book if it was entirely confined? Brago clenched his fist, his black claws slightly puncturing the skin on his palms. Blood warmed his fingers, but Brago made no move to attack just yet. He continued to glare at the infant, wondering how such a helpless, weak human child could be the book master of a mamodo with Clear Note's skill level.

Clear, as if reading Brago's thoughts, said, "He is very level-headed for his age. Of course, he has no strength to speak of yet… but his heart power is an incredible thing to behold…"

Vino, in his comically high-pitched voice, yelled out, "Radisu!"

A white bubble suddenly encased brago's right arm. It seemed to suck out all of his muscle tone and left the limb like a quivering stick stuck to Brago's shoulder. Brago's arm now resembled a chicken leg that had been devoured with only a few scrawny scraps of meat left on it compared to the beefy mass of muscles that it had previously been.

Brago snarled and panted, his right arm quivering as sweat fell down his grey-toned face. Sherry inhaled sharply and wanted to rush to him, but didn't think it would be wise to draw attention to the fact that she was immensely worried for his condition. Brago would chew her out later with his pointed teeth if she gave any indication to her being worried about him; he would view it as a sign of weakness on his part, earning her worry.

"As I thought…" Clear stated as blandly as if making an obvious observation that interested him little. "That spell can't erase your body… You're tough. You have a good body. But… it's over…"

Clear lifted his hand again in a trademark gesture, stretching it before him. The same spell continued, hitting Brago's left arm and right leg. Brago braced himself, taking the blast full on and roaring defiantely at Clear as the spell eroded Brago's muscles.

Sherry's eyes widened at Brago's condition, unable to grasp how he had gone from more than capable to so… so pathetic looking… He was breathing heavily, the furry material on his right pant leg having been disintrigrated to reveal the now scrappy limb beneath. It was almost comical how asymetrical Brago's body was.

Clear calmly walked towards Brago, the sunlight highlighting his puffy hair. Clear Note's hand was outstretched, the palm facing upwards as if in a gesture of compassion. The other hand was tucked behind him lazily, like Clear didn't even consider that using his other hand was necessary to win the battle.

Sherry watched him slowly approach, thoughts blurring together and rushing through her mind in a dull haze.

_It hasn't even been 20 minutes since Clear began is assault! Brago can't even stand anymore… _

Sherry stared at Brago's scrawny limbs for a moment before looking towards the debris and damage left behind from the battle. Where Clear's spells had hit the ground, the rocks and grass were nearly erased, leaving behind no spare pebbles. His spells acted like whiteout to pen, wiping out whatever it touched.

_Clear's spell type is probably annhiliation… the areas he pointed to were disintigrated… I can't read the trajectory of his attacks at all!_

Brago refused to give up, refused to admit defeat. If he was going to lose, then it was going to be because he was dead, not because he had given up!

"Sheeerrrrry!" he roared, crouching.

"_Dioga…"_ Sherry said breathlessly, beginning to lose hope. "_Gravidon…!_"

Brago leapt into the air with one leg curled into him and one outstretched like the position of a crane. His right arm was extended outwards, pushing the palm forward like a gun pointed at a target. A sphere of magical energy with a pitch black center, black outline, and slicing slivers of energy around the massive sphere exploded into the ground where Clear had been. However, Clear leapt over the ginormous attack and made to swipe at Brago. Brago smirked with fanged teeth, feeling a jolt in his chest.

_Just as I predicted! My greatest chance to hit him is the moment he comes to finish me off!_

Brago held both arms forward and connected his wrists together. His hands curved backwards slightly like they were cupping an invisible ball.

" _Diborudo Jii Gravidon!_" Sherry cried, also feeling hope in her heart when Clear fell for their trap.

A sphere of transparent magical energy encasing 10 cannon-like orbs of pitch-blackness trapped Clear in the middle. The force of the spell bent his spine, reduced his arm to a squiggle, and twisted his body like a pliable play-doh figurine.

_It's over!_ Sherry thought. _This is Brago's ultimate attack spell!_

Brago and Sherry had devised their plan by only glancing at each other. With their hearts connected so strongly, there was no way that Clear could escape this attack or counter it! Brago and Sherry's visions were torn between watching Clear's body curving in tortuous ways to watching the spell book in Vino's hands, waiting for it to burst into colored flames.

" _Ba Supurifo!_" Vino's voice sliced through the air, surprising Sherry and Brago.

Brago's spell shattered, the shards of the spell thrust outwards before disintigrating. Sherry and Brago flinched slightly, wearing equally dumbfounded looks.

Sherry's breathing became shallow and labored. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, struggling to speak.

"No… no way…" she mumbled when she finally found her voice, though it was as quiet as a field mouse. "Our most powerful spell, the result of all our rigorous training… was _shattered_…"

Clear vanished for a split second before suddenly appearing before a shocked Brago. The normally vacant expression upon Clear's face slid away to reveal a smirk of arrogance.

"Heh… Too bad, Brago. Even at your strongest you're still too weak..." Clear Note nearly simpered.

The red of Brago's eyes vanished abruptled as rage colored his thought process. Clear didn't flinch and nor did his eyes widen when Brago launched himself at Clear Note. Brago's sharp, filed fangs clamped onto Clear Note's thin neck, though there was no blood. Not even Brago's teeth could leave a mark on Clear Note's skin.

"Impressive spirit…" Clear Note said, expression vacant and bored again. "Even now you haven't given up… But… it's futile…"

Clear put his hand in Brago's mouth to pry him from his neck, but even that didn't deter Brago. He just began to chomp on Clear's hand, gnashing his teeth on Clear's fingers and hand, one of Brago's hands gripping Clear's wrist. Clear sighed, extending his palm again.

Sherry recognized the gesture, blue eyes widening. She looked around wildely for her staff. She spotted it a few feet from her and she dug her heeled boots into the stiff earth. Dirt churned upwards from her heels as she sped towards the staff, reaching one of her delicate hands…

Vino's voice cried out, "Radisu!"

Destructive energy burst out of Clear's palm and would have evaporated Brago completely if Sherry hadn't acted fast. The emerald jewel connected to the thick, metal cord wrapped around Brago's torso. The jewel that was tethered to the staff by a cord yanked Brago back towards Sherry and out of the way of the spell.

Clear's expression emptied of any little emotion in it, but Sherry could see that a slight hint of frustration edged its way into Clear Note's eyes.

" Not yet, Brago!" Sherry said fiercely, now the one with the strength as Brago leaned into her, breathing heavily. "You can't lose yet! I swore to make you king!"

Brago nodded stiffly, irked that Sherry was giving him a pep talk. Brago's red eyes glared up at Clear, the puffy haired mamodo looking down at Brago with apparent disgust. The look in Clear's eyes as he looked downwards at Brago was colored with mild irritation, as if fighting Brago was a waste of Clear's own energy.

Brago snarled mentally and, by the expression on Brago's face, he was clearly not calling Clear Note a wonderful mamodo by any means. Brago's current mental word choice for Clear Note would make a seasoned sailor with twenty awards of foul language blush.

_Looking down at me as if I were a worm…_ Brago thought, sucking in more air to catch his breath. _You think I'll let you look down on me? You brat… You… think I'll let you… look down on __**me**__?_

Brago clenched his sharp teeth tightly and his fists constricted so much that the veins popped out of his wrists. An outburst of light surged from Sherry and Brago's black spell. The gleaming writing reflected from Sherry's blue eyes as she quickly read the spell. A small smile wanted to tug at her lips, but now was not the time for jubilation.

It was the time for annihilation.

Sherry gripped the book tightly and threw one of Brago's arms across her shoulders to support him.

"Brago! Hold your hand out!" she ordered, disregarding the slight scowl he gave her because she ordered him around. "EAT THIS! Our new spell! _Nyuuborutsu Ma Gravirei!_"

Two black rings, one larger than the other, encircled Clear. The inner ring compressed and curled him into a tiny ball. The outer ring and inner ring worked together, an immensely strong field of gravity created around him to compress and crush all ensnared within it. Clear's puffy hair flattened against his skull from the pressure and he was struggling to release himself from the invisible force crushing him.

"I see, what an unthinkable counter attack… I can't erase it with my previous spell…" Clear scoffed, his eyes sliding to sideways glare at his book master. "Vino."

"Amu Du Supirifo!" Vino said immediately.

Clear managed with slight difficulty to outstretch his hands to his sides. Massive mirror images of hands appeared behind him. The fingers curved to contain the miniscule ball of black gravity at Clear's stomach that was creating the outer two rings of the gravitational field.

Brago and Sherry's eyes widened; Sherry heard Brago let out a hiss between his teeth in rage and the skin that was touching hers was inflamed with heat.

Clear landed nimbly back down to Vino, the grace of a dancer in his every step. He ran a hand through his copious amounts of weightless hair, making sure it was back to normal.

"Now, let's finish them off, Vino. Make sure they won't be able to run away. Cast a slightly strong spell."

Clear lifted his hand and the book resting before Vino glowed with heart energy. Brago and Sherry grit their teeth together, both of them thinking in overdrive on what more they could do. They couldn't try to waste Vino's heart energy since Clear Note said in the beginning that the infant had a surplus of it. They couldn't call many more spells like the one they had just called because Sherry's heart energy was dangerously low.

What now? Sherry snarled to herself.

Vino was about to call the spell when Clear's eyes drifted away from Sherry and Brago to his left. The sound of hurried footsteps caught his attention and he turned his palm to block a fist aimed for his face.

"A slightly strong spell?" Sorella said, voice decorated with an exhilerated laugh. "That's kinda arrogant, don't you think?"

Sorella leapt away from Clear and strategically positioned herself in front of Brago and Sherry. Her golden eyes did a quick sweep of the area, taking note of the damage, the random curly haired book master with the mamodo that didn't seem to be doing anything other than diddly squat, and then finally to Brago and Sherry's condition.

"Pffffft, what the hell happened to you?" she sneered at Brago.

"Do you want to die?" Brago spat, the reds vanishing into the whites of his eyes in his rage. "That's what will happen to you if you mock me!"

Sorella waved a hand at him. "Okay, but I'm not the one that looks like a scrappy adolescent… oh wait, that's what you are anyway! You look like you always do!"

Brago hissed and Sherry cut him off before he could snap at Sorella again.

"Sorella, be careful! This mamodo is dangerous! You can't possibly defeat him! Look what he did to-" Sherry's sentence trailed off at the dangerous look Brago gave her. "Look…at what Clear Note did to the landscape! He erased everything in his path!"

Sorella's golden eyes gleamed as she turned back to Clear Note who was observing her with mild indifference. If this mamodo had managed to nearly wipe out Brago, then he must be beyond tough! She could really test her skills against him!

"I might even come close to the sink of death!" she squealed happily.

"Brink of death, Sorella! _Brink_ of death!" Sherry sighed, unable to keep from correcting Sorella and looking worried as well as annoyed. "And this isn't a fight you can win!"

Sorella ignored Sherry and put a hand on her shoulder, rotating it until it cracked before withdrawing her own white spell book.

Looking excited as white energy rippled away from her spell book, Sorella asked, "Then this will be a fun fight, won't it?"

**Author's Note again:**_ There it was! I hope you liked it! It took me fooooorever to transfer the dialogue to word format… phew, but it was worth it updating for you guys! Just in time for the holidays, too! I celebrate Christmas, but for those of you who celebrate something else, Happy Holidays! _

_These were some of the notes I took while writing this chapter so I could remember Brago and Sherry's expressions or actions. I giggled a lot when writing the chapter whenever I came across these descriptions… :D_

Brago and Sherry (when clear note first arrives): WHAAAAAAAAAAA? O_O

Brago and Sherry (when clear note brushes off their spells): WA WA WAAAAA…O_O

(Brago om nom chomps Clear's neck)


	27. Chapter 27 A Game of Tag

Chatper 27: A Game of Tag

**Author's Note:** _Aaaaah, I'm sooooo sorry this took forever… _ I turned into one of THOSE people, the people I love, but get frustrated with for a lack of updates! (FALLS ON KNEES) FORGIIIIIIVE MEEEEEE! But anyhoo, here's the next chapter and I hope I made it SEMI worth the obnoxiously long weight… __

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Zatch Bell, Brago, yada yada yoda, but Sorella, Rita, and Lance are mine, and Kumara was a guest star from my dear friend Mukai-sama!**

Clear Note's eyes were crisp, colorless slices of a green apple on his thin, feline face. His hair floated weightless into the sky, but slices fell into those empty eyes, hiding bits of them from view. Sorella waited, curling her toes inside of her shoes and rocking slightly on her heels. Her fingers twitched in excitement, but her instincts told her well enough not to charge in like a bull.

The seconds dragged on, nothing changing except the wind shuffling the grass.

"SCREW THIS!" Sorella said, fed up with waiting.

"Sorella!" Sherry cried out in exasperation as the girl charged forward, her spell book glowing white.

"It's times like this when I love being a paradox!" Sorella laughed, drawing back her fist. "_Teo Ramespirare!" _

Copper exploded from her knuckles and swirled around her fist like ribbons, coiling, twirling, and compacting into brass knuckles. She charged at Clear shamelessly, punching his fist towards him. He calmly held up a hand and caught it; Sorella winced at the ripple of pain that traveled up her arm, but the grimace quickly twitched into an arrogant smirk. The copper seeped between his long, thin, spidery fingers and coiled around his wrist.

Clear Note's fathomless eyes glanced at the copper and attempted to swat it off like one does a bug, but it was already snaking up to his shoulder.

"Gotcha!" Sorella laughed, pulling her free fist back and aiming it right at Clear's cheek.

Her knuckles made contact, and she prepared to celebrate for landing a hit on the mamodo that overpowered Brago, but… Sorella's eyes narrowed when Clear remained motionless; his head didn't even turn upon the force of impact, which wasn't right because a hit like the one she delivered could have sent a cement truck full of hardened cement through a wall!

"I loathe needing to babysit…" Clear sighed, lifting his hand to pinch Sorella's wrist.

Sorella screamed, retracting her copper and releasing him so she could leap back. Her hand dangled limply from her broken wrist, snapped by a mere pinch, as if Clear were pinching a potato chip instead of a person.

A growl escaped between Sorella's teeth, and her upper lip curled wolfishly away to expose the pearly whites. Her golden eyes grew inflamed, heat burning in her chest.

_Oh, this guy…_ Sorella thought. _IS DEAD MEAT._

_Dear heart,_ a voice said in Sorella's mind.

_Akela?_ Sorella asked, pulling her subconscious in a bit further to speak with Akela, the source of her power, of her heart energy, and her familiar.

_Dear heart, perhaps we can… catch him off guard?_ Akela asked in a loving croon, but with a definite hint of venom. _With, how shall I say this... politely?_

Sorella waited, but felt Akela's laughter ripple through her mind.

_I say we gut him with our fangs until his entrails hang from his abdomen and lay so sickeningly in the dirt that not even the birds of the sky will want to feast on the carrion!_

Three second silence…

_Gee, you should write birthday cards! _

Sorella outwardly smirked, ripping a bit of her shirt to wrap around her broken wrist to keep it from wiggling as much as possible. She rotated her shoulder a bit before lowering into an offensive crouch, shifting her weight on either foot. Sorella tilted her head to the side, observing Clear Note and Vino with humor.

"You're a kid, right?" Sorella asked Vino. "How about your mamodo and I play tag? _Dioga Roturra Corazzare!__**" **_

Copper exploded from Sorella's head and spread along her arms and hands in intricate, graceful patterns, forming into claws at the tips of her fingers. Along her neck, forehead, and back copper trickled against her skin to form armor. Sorella's long, dark hair fanned out and attached to the copper spine, becoming more course like an animal's mane. Sorella let out a snarl, exposing two copper fangs protruding from the top row of her teeth.

"Tag?" Clear Note asked, unimpressed.

"Yeah," Sorella snickered, vanishing.

Clear Note spun around, throwing up an arm to catch a bite on his flesh. He quickly tossed Sorella aside easily, but not before she managed to give him a bite mark on his arm. Brago perked up slightly on Sherry's lap, his large eyes narrowing slightly.

Sorella curled her clawed fingers, the copper turning gold in the bright sun. Clear Note made no move to attack, instead opting to watch her closely.

"What's the matter?" Sorella taunted, churning up the earth a bit with her claws, waiting for an opening. "Surprised?"

Clear Note stared. "Yes," he said finally.

He slowly lifted his hand, face remaining blank and uninterested. Sorella's mouth opened slightly, eyes tensing as the hair on her neck rose up in fear.

"That a weakling like you would even approach me to begin with…" Clear sighed in boredom.

"_Radisu!"_the high pitched voice of baby Vino screamed.

Sorella, even with her increased speed from her spell, couldn't dodge. She was tossed through the air as her spell shattered into pieces, flecks of copper raining down and embedding themselves in the dirt and her skin before dissolving. Dust churned into the air as Sorella's body crashed into the ground repeatedly, tumbling back towards Brago and Sherry.

"Sorella!" Sherry gasped, surprised at the lacerations etched into Sorella's skin, the ease with which Clear Note not only defeated Brago and Sherry, but Sorella too.

"D… damn it…" Sorella cursed, scraping her fingers into the earth in an effort to get up.

"Wasn't it you that said we would be playing tag?" Clear Note asked, inspecting his fingernails. "Don't the other players have to at least be _fast _enough to catch one another? Instead of tag, we could play an easier game for you… What's a game that's easy enough for these three, Vino? You're a baby, so you should know. But mind to choose a game that's easy for you because anything higher than that will be too difficult."

Sorella roared, attempting to get up, but Sherry lunged and wrapped her fingers around Sorella's ankle. The tug sent Sorella easily to the ground, coughing, flecks of blood spotting her lips from the broken ribs putting pressure on her lungs.

"You're in no condition to fight!" Sherry said, holding onto two mamodo now.

"That's right," Clear said, holding his hand out. "You're in a condition to die."

"_Raajia Radisu_!" Vino cried from inside his protective sphere.

The earth rippled, cracked, and splintered under the weight of Clear Note's spell. Sorella, Brago, and Sherry watched the incoming attack with a mix of fear and defiance, still even then trying to pull out a solution, a way to win.

Clear Note watched his spell proceed with a smirk until a wall of dust climbed into the sky with a resonating KA-BOOM to follow. His lips turned downward again, observing the dust swirl in the wind to reveal a large, dark figure.

"Was that a Shin-class spell at its full potential? That speed… to have been fast enough…" Clear muttered, eyes burning with a hidden emotion.

A massive dragon-like beast loomed from behind the wall of dust, his arm thrown out around Brago, Sherry, and Sorella. Clear Note's spell was deflected by the beast's gleaming scales, and Sorella couldn't help but admire them even when her life was in danger. Her neck ached as she craned to get a good look at the savior towering over them, his hot breath puffing down at her face. Ivory shards of teeth jutted out from his dark gums, the tips shining with spit and a lust for fighting.

_WOW…_ Sorella thought, unable to keep herself from fantasizing how to spar with this opponent.

"Ashuron…" Clear Note said, and the dragon beast's head jerked up in acknowledgement.

Clear Note's face was wrinkled with desire and bloodlust, eyeing the towering dragon mamodo before him with ill-disguised longing. Insanity lined Clear Note's smile and rimmed his eyes, and layered the breath of his next sentence.

"_It's been a while."_

**Author's Note (TIMES TWO!):** _There you have it, folks! I'm sort of out of practice with writing this story, so I hope I made it at least decent, and I hope Clear Note's in-character… I'm usually good at that, but sometimes he's hard to figure out. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry again for the wait! Reviews, comments, and suggestions are welcome! I love constructive feedback! ^_^ _

_Sorella: Well, in that case, I think you-_

_Smileyone1: (SHOVES INTO A CLOSET) _


End file.
